Primary challengers emerge in recent election filings

Recent state legislative candidate filings have set up competitive races in several local House and Senate districts.

Doug Mahlum filed to challenge incumbent Mark Noland in the Republican primary election for the House District 10 seat. Noland was first elected in 2014 and has never faced a primary challenge. Mahlum owns the Montana Athletic Club in Bigfork.

Rep. Carl Glimm, R-Columbia Falls, threw his hat in the ring for Senate District 2, and will challenge Norm Nunnally and Jerry O’Neil in the Republican primary. That seat is being vacated by Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, who is term-limited from running again.

Glimm currently represents House District 6, but is also term-limited from retaining his seat.

Catherine Owens has filed as a Republican candidate for House District 5, the Whitefish district currently held by Democrat Dave Fern. Fern – who was first elected in 2016 before winning in 2018 without a Republican challenger – is running for re-election this year.

Brian Putnam filed to run in House District 9, setting up a Republican primary contest between himself and incumbent David Dunn, R-Kalispell, who was elected in 2018. Putnam is the head of engineering at Nomad Global Communication.

Rep. Derek Skees, R- Kalispell, of House District 11 also officially filed for re-election. He faces a primary challenge from Republican Dee Kirk-Boon.

State Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is asking voters to send him back to Helena to serve in the Montana Legislature for a fifth consecutive session, but this time as a senator.

The longtime Polson business owner officially filed last week as a candidate for Senate District 6. Hertz served four terms in the state House of Representatives and has reached his term limits for that seat.

Republican state Sen. Albert Olszewski, of Kalispell, currently represents Senate District 6, which encompasses a vast area including Polson, most of Flathead Lake and the south end of Kalispell. Olszewski is campaigning to be Montana governor, so he can’t run for re-election unless he withdraws from the governor’s race by March 9.

Hertz said he spoke with Olszewski before filing.

“Since he’s running for governor, it’s an open seat,” Hertz said.

Hertz served in the Montana House during the 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions. He was Speaker of the House in the 2019 session.

Primary elections take place on June 2 with the general election on Nov. 3.

Filing closes at 5 p.m. March 9.