Today is the last day to file as a candidate for the 2026 primary

Three candidates have filed for two ADLC Commission seats as of today

A shortened candidate filing season for the 2026 primary election closes tonight – Wednesday, March 4 at 5 p.m., and as of press time today there have been three candidates who have filed for two seats on the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission, plus one candidate for ADLC Justice of the Peace.

According to the ADLC Clerk and Recorder's Office, two candidates have filed for Commission District 5 – Ed Beaudette, the incumbent, and Jared Otto – while the lone candidate to file so far for Commission District 4 is Brian Riley. The incumbent in that office is Paul Smith. Also, incumbent ADLC Justice of the Peace Kenneth Walund has filed for re-election. 

Those are the three county offices up for election in 2026. Additionally, two candidates have filed in each of the State House of Representatives that include ADLC within their boundaries: House District 71, encompassing much of ADLC as well as part of Butte-Silver Bow County, and House District 76, which includes the Georgetown Lake area as well as Granite, Powell and portions of Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties.

For HD 71, incumbent Scott DeMarois, a Democrat from Anaconda, has filed for re-election, as has Suzzann Nordwick, a Republican from Butte. For HD 76, two Republicans – incumbent John Fitzpatrick of Anaconda and Trish Schreiber of Avon – have both filed to run. 

Outside of ADLC but also including it, the federal races in Montana that will be on the ballot for local voters have seen a flurry of action, with incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican for the 1st congressional district, announcing earlier this week that he would be retiring from office at the end of his current term and thus would not be seeking re-election. 

So there will be a crowded primary on both sides of the aisle, with four Democrats – Russell Cleveland, Matt Rains, Ryan Busse and Sam Forstag – and three Republicans – Al "Doc" Olszewski, Aaron Flint and Christi Jacobsen – so far having filed for the 1st congressional district. An independent, Kimberly Persico, has also filed, though the petition for that is pending according to the Montana Secretary of State's candidate filing list, which is available online at https://candidatefiling.mt.gov/candidatefiling/CandidateList.aspx?e=4500.... 

No Republican primary challenger has filed against U.S. Senator Steve Daines, whose seat is up for election this year, though four Democrats have filed for that race to date – Michael Hummert, Alani Bankhead, Michael Black Wolf and Reilly Neill – as has a Libertarian, Kyle Austin.

And two candidates so far have filed for the one seat on the Montana Supreme Court that's up for election, Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson. 

We'll have more about the local races in an upcoming edition. For more information on elections in Montana, visit the Montana Secretary of State's website, https://sosmt.gov/elections. And you can always contact the ADLC Clerk and Recorder's Office for assistance at (406) 563-4060 or in person at the second floor of the courthouse, or visit their website, https://www.adlc.us/156/Clerk-Recorder.