Democrats dominate in local contested county, legislative elections

While this area pretty well followed the rest of the state in statewide elections, and the state and nation in the presidential elections, Democrats dominated Tuesday in local contested elections, while the area also supported putting the right to choose an abortion in the state Constitution and a Hill Count road mill levy passed and a Liberty County hospital levy passed.

The area followed the rest of Montane in re-electing former Republican President Donald Trump to a new term in the office and elected Republicans to the thee open seats in Congress and to all statewide offices.

But in a contested county and contested legislative races for the area, it was a bright spot for Democrats.

Most of this region, and the state, also approved the initiative to put a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion in the state constitution and a local count road mill levy and a hospital levy also passed.

In local Legislative races, Republican Eric Albus of Hinsdale won the race for the open seat in House District 28, defeating Havre Democrat Blake Borst 77% to 33%, with 4,112 votes to Borst's 1,222.

But was the only Republican win in local contested races.

Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, won a second term in House District 27, defeating in a fairly close race Republican Ed Hill of Havre, whom Tuss defeated in 2022 during Hill's bid for a second term in the Legislature.

Tuss won 53% to 47%, with 2,288 votes to Hill's 2,061, a 227-vote margin in the unofficial count.

The counts are considered unofficial until the county canvasing boards certify the elections, set for next week.

Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, the longest-serving member in Montana's Legislature, again won a bid to switch houses and defeated Republican Perri Jacobs of Glasgow 60% to 39% to win the open seat in Senate District 16 being vacated by Sen. Mike Fox, D-Hays.

Jacobs took an early lead in the race, but Windy Boy came back throughout the night to win with 4,389 votes to Jacobs' 2,685.

Windy Boy was elected to the House in 2002, but in 2008, instead of running for a fourth term, challenged incumbent Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, and won that seat.

Windy Boy retained the seat again when Smith challenged him in 2012, then won a race for the House Seat when he termed out in 2016. He now returns to the Senate.

Smith had won a race for the House in 2010 before challenging Windy Boy in 2012, then won the seat in the Senate in 2016 when Windy Boy termed out. He won races for the House in 2020 and 2022, and was re-elected to that seat Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, Fox, who ran for House instead of running for re-election to the Senate, defeated Republican Jason Ulrich of Malta for the seat in House District 32. Ulrich led in the race in early returns, but Fox came back to win with 59 percent, 2,133 votes, to Ulrich's 1,482 votes, 41 percent.

And in the only contested local county race, Democrat Bill Lanier defeated Libertarian Sam Ayres in the race for the open Hill County Commission seat.

Lanier took 3,582 votes to Ayres' 2,133, 60 percent to 40 percent.

Incumbent Democratic Commissioner Mark Peterson could finish his term but could not run for reelection after he moved from the commission district after losing his residence to a fire.

A Hill County mill levy for road maintenance and improvements was passed by county voters by a narrow margin, 51% to 49%. The levy passed by just 52 votes, with 1,348 votes in favor and 1,292 against.

And a levy for the hospital in Liberty County passed by the same percent, 51% to 49%, with 501 votes in favor and 473 against, a 28-vote margin.

The locally hotly contested constitutional amendment to put a woman's right to choose to have an abortion in the Montana Constitution passed in most of the local counties and passed in the state.

Opponents to Constitutional Initiative 128 had been going door-to-door in recent weeks urging people to vote against it, and were picketing with signs urging a "no" vote en route to polling places Tuesday.

But the initiative passed 60%-40% in Hill and Blaine counties, 3,948-2,604 and 1,749-1,162, respectively, and 54% to 49 percent in Chouteau County,1,559-1,344, with Liberty County voters opposing it with 44 percent in favor and 56 percent opposed, 432-550.

The initiative passed statewide 57% to 43%, with 319,208 votes in favor and 237,870 against.

The constitutional initiatives to have open primaries, Constitutional Initiative 126, and to require a simple majority to win an election, Constitutional Initiative 127, failed locally and statewide.

CI-126 actually came close to passing statewide and in some local county elections.

The state total was 48 percent against and 52 percent opposed, 264,211 votes to 283,074 votes.

Blaine County voters essentially tied in the vote on CI-126 at 50%, with 1,460 against and 1,437 in favor.

Hill County came in at 49% to 51%, 3,185 votes to 3,308 votes.

Liberty and Chouteau counties were heavily against CI-126, with Liberty County voters casting 320 votes in favor and 661 against, 33% to 67%, and Chouteau County voters casting 1,250 in favor and 1,621 against, 44% to 56%.

CI-127 failed heavily on both the local and state levels. Hill County voted 40% to 60%, 2,537-3,850; Blaine 41% to 59%, 1,173-1,715; Chouteau 34% to 66%, 959-1,840, and Liberty County 28% to 72%, 264-689.

The initiative failed statewide 39% to 61 percent, with 210,737 votes in favor and 328,169 against.