Schubert knocks off Brockman while Sprunger tops conservative rival

Republican voters sent incumbent state Rep. Tony Brockman packing during Tuesday’s primary election, backing instead a teenage political neophyte for House District 8.

Brockman, who represented a district that included Evergreen, met defeat at the ballot box despite the backing of the local business community and Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. Lukas Schubert, who garnered the backing of House Speaker Matt Regier, will appear on the November ballot against Democrat Beth Sibert. 

Schubert secured 1,502 votes to Brockman’s 1,017, according to unofficial results. 

“Honestly it's a wider margin than I expected ... but we’re at 60% [of the vote] so I think that really shows how much support true conservatives have,” Schubert said Wednesday. “We really are what’s coming, we are what people want. People are tired of the establishment that has been here for decades.”

Schubert, who refers to himself as a “Christian, conservative, Republican, Gen-Z candidate,” is a 2023 graduate of Glacier High School. His campaign has focused on holding the judiciary accountable, cutting property taxes and reinstating a “true conservative” party.   

He laid out a few of his priorities following his primary win, which include cutting property taxes, making the tax code more fair to lifelong Montanans, passing the Judicial Transparency Act and cracking down on illegal immigration by following legislation enacted in Texas.  

Brockman was a freshman legislator during the 2023 session, carrying 16 bills that were signed into law, many of them focused on policy and cutting red tape. He also helped secure funding for the construction of sidewalks along U.S. 2.

In nearby House District 7, which includes downtown Kalispell, incumbent Republican state Rep. Courtenay Sprunger fended off a challenge by hard-line rival Shaun Pandina. Sprunger topped Pandina 848 votes to 502.

Sprunger, like Brockman, was a freshman legislator during the 2023 session. As in House District 8, Sprunger’s opponent ran on her right throughout the primary campaign. 

“I’m grateful to the voters for their support yesterday,” Sprunger said in a statement. “As a fifth generation Montanan, representing the heart of Kalispell has been the privilege of my lifetime. I am looking forward to the general and hope to earn the opportunity to continue serving the people of Montana House District 7.”

Sprunger will face Democrat Arthur Fretheim in November.  

“It is intriguing how much was spent in the House District 7 election, the most of any primary race in Flathead County, well over $100,000 from all sources. Yet it had the lowest turnout of any Flathead County house district with a primary,” Pandina wrote in an email on Wednesday. “Unfortunately the people of Montana will be paying it back to all those special interests groups for years to come.”

House District 7 saw 1,350 total votes cast. As of Wednesday afternoon, statewide, 40.4% of registered voters voted in the primary election. In Flathead County, that percentage totals 36.9%. In the county, of the 79,772 registered voters, only 29,464 votes were cast.

 “We will likely see Medicaid expansion,” Pandina warned. “Montana will likely continue to be a state where unions rule and the right to work is denied. Time will tell. Hopefully [Sprunger] felt the pressure of her voting record being exposed; hopefully she will vote better in the future.”

House Speaker Matt Regier, meanwhile, cruised to victory in the Senate District 5 primary. Regier, who has termed out of the Montana House of Representatives, topped his Republican rival Marquis Laude 2,862 to 1,422.

“I’m just excited about the Republican turnout statewide,” Regier said Wednesday. “The state is getting redder.”

Regier’s name was notably missing from Gov. Greg Gianforte’s list of endorsements earlier this year, a group that included both Brockman and Sprunger. 

Gianforte secured his own primary victory Tuesday, beating out Lakeside Republican Tanner Smith. Smith had argued that Helena required stronger, more conservative leadership. 

“Four more years of Greg is going to be a complete mess,” Smith said Wednesday morning. “... What I fear is that Montana is just going to continue becoming California, Washington, Oregon.” 

Smith expressed interest in running for the position in future cycles. 

In the valley’s only Democratic primary in House District 3, which includes Whitefish, Debo Powers beat Guthrie Quist, securing 993 votes to Quist’s 363. Powers will take on Republican Cathy Mitchell in November.  

In House District 2, Tom Millett beat Tom Jenkins for the Republican nomination. Steve Kelly secured the House District 9 spot, beating out Republican challenger Lee Huestis. House District 11 will see Ed Byrne as the Republican nominee after he beat Rob Tracy. 

Montanans for Election Reform released a statement after the primary, asserting the need for reforming the primary election process. The bipartisan group is attempting to qualify two initiatives for the ballot in November, CI-126 and CI-127, which would create open primaries and a “top four” ballot over the current partisan system.

“I received four different ballots in the mail, and was forced to pick just one,” said Frank Garner, a board member for the group and former state lawmaker. “Montana voters are faced with what feels like a false choice when being forced to choose one party’s ballot prevents them from participating in all the races that could affect them and their families. Open primaries put the power back in the hands of voters who want to be able to make better choices in our elections.” 

The general election is Nov. 5. 

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.