Whitefish's Don 'K' re-elected as Montana GOP chairman
Montana Republican Party Chairman Don "K" Kaltschmidt speaks at a campaign event at the Red Lion Hotel conference center in Kalispell in this Oct. 19, 2020, file photo. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)
Whitefish businessman Don "K" Kaltschmidt was re-elected over the weekend as chairman of the Montana Republican Party.
The state GOP said Kaltschmidt had unanimous support among party officers who voted Saturday at a convention in Helena. State Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway of Great Falls was re-elected as the party's vice chairwoman.
Kaltschmidt, who owns the Don K car dealership in Whitefish, was first elected to lead the party in 2019, replacing chairwoman Debra Lamm. Kaltschmidt previously served as finance chairman for the Flathead County Republican Central Committee and was a Montana delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention.
In a statement, Kaltschmidt celebrated the "momentum" of Republican candidates in Montana, who swept races last November to hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature as well as seven out of eight statewide offices. The exception is Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
"With Montana picking up a second congressional seat, I have no doubt that next year, we will send not one but two Republican members of Congress back to Washington, D.C., to fight back on President Biden's radical agenda," Kaltschmidt said.
Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.