HELENA, Mont. — Fifteen new candidate filings were submitted to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office this week as the 2022 candidate filing season enters its final 24 days. The deadline to file for office is 5 p.m. on Monday, March 14, 2022.
This week, two candidates entered the race for Montana’s two Congressional seats — Monica Tranel filed for U.S. House District 1 on Monday, while Penny Ronning entered the race for U.S. House District 2 on Thursday.
District 1, which consists of western Montana, currently hosts six candidates: Allen McKibben, Al “Doc” Olszewski, Cora Neumann, Mary Todd, Tranel, and Ryan Zinke.
Montana’s eastern district, District 2, has candidates in Kyle Austin, James Boyette, current Representative Matt Rosendale, Ronning, Mark Sweeney, and Skylar Williams.
Meanwhile, 13 new filings were submitted for Montana’s legislative seats this week. Eleven of those were for state house offices, while the other two were for the state senate. A total of 207 candidates have filed for Montana’s 126 legislative offices that will be on the 2022 ballot.
Of the 207 candidates to file for legislative office, 80 are incumbents running to maintain their seats in the Montana House and Montana Senate. Thirty-four of those incumbents currently have at least one challenger, though only four incumbents may face a primary in June. As of Friday afternoon, a total of 27 legislative races were slated for a primary election on June 7.
To date, 131 Republicans, 73 Democrats, and three Libertarian candidates have filed for legislative office.
Statewide, state district, or legislative candidates can file online, in person at the Secretary of State’s Office, or by mail or fax (the filing fee must be paid at the time of filing). Local candidates file with the county election office.
For more information about candidate filing and the offices on the 2022 ballot, visit the “File For Office” page on the Montana Secretary of State’s website. Montana’s 2022 Election Calendars are also available online.
Candidate filing closes at 5 p.m. on March 14, 2022.
Note: Candidate filing numbers were updated as of 4:45 p.m. on Friday, February 18, 2022.
