Contested races emerge as candidate filing opens

Whitefish Republican Rep. John Fuller has offered his name for a contested Senate District 4 seat against Kyle Waterman, a Kalispell Democrat who lost a state senate bid last November.

The Senate District 4 seat is currently held by Mark Blasdel, a Kalispell Republican who will term out in 2023. This year’s candidate filings for legislative and nonlegislative seats opened Jan. 13.

Statewide, 81 candidates filed on opening day of registration, according to Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen. The filing deadline is set for 5 p.m. on March 14.

Republicans maintain a sweeping 31-19 majority over Democrats in the Montana State Senate and lead 67-33 in the state House of Representatives.

To date regionally, the only other contested state legislative race this year is for Flathead County’s House District 7, a race between Republicans Dave Ingram of Kalispell and Courtenay Sprunger, also of Kalispell.

The House District 7 seat is currently held by Frank Garner, a Kalispell Republican also set to term out in 2023.

Incumbent state Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, has filed for House District 3 and is so far running unopposed.

Incumbent Democrat state Rep. Dave Fern of Whitefish has filed unopposed so far for House District 5.

A few candidates have officially filed for Montana’s U.S. House District 1 seat, including Kalispell Republicans Al Olszewski and Mary Todd, and Democrat Cora Neumann of Bozeman. Former Montana Congressman and Interior secretary Ryan Zinke has said he will run for the seat as well.

The state’s current at-large U.S. House seat is held by Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale, whose term ends next year. He has said he will seek reelection in Montana’s newly allowed U.S. House District 2 seat.

A Billings Democrat, Skylar Williams, has also filed for the District 2 seat.

For nonlegislative seats, Danni Coffman of Kalispell is seeking an currently unopposed seat as 11th Judicial District Court judge.

Lastly, for the state’s Public Service Commission, Derek Skees of Kalispell has filed so far unopposed for District 5 Public Commissioner. The seat is currently held by Brad Johnson, who resides in East Helena.