HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s 2022 candidate filing season is winding down. Twenty-eight days remain before the deadline of Monday, March 14, 2022.
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen officially opened candidate filing on Thursday, January 13, with 81 candidates filing on the first day. As of noon on Monday, February 14, a total of 221 candidate filings had been submitted to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office.
Of the 221 filings, 195 were legislative (state house and state senate seats) while the other 26 were for non-legislative positions.
Eleven candidates have officially filed for Montana’s two Congressional seats, including one on Monday morning. Monica Tranel visited the Secretary of State’s Office just before noon on Monday, becoming the sixth candidate for U.S. House District 1, which covers western Montana. District 1 also includes candidates Allen McKibben, Al “Doc” Olszewski, Cora Neumann, Mary Todd, and Ryan Zinke.
State Senator Mark Sweeney joined the race for U.S. House District 2 on February 8, joining fellow candidates Kyle Austin, James Boyette, Skylar Williams, and current Representative Matt Rosendale.
All but four of Montana’s legislative offices on the ballot have at least one candidate declared to run. House Districts 16, 31, 32, and 42 are currently without candidates, though all four incumbents are eligible to run again, according to the term limit section of the Secretary of State Office’s website.
Twenty-seven legislative incumbents currently have challengers for office, with three of those — House Districts 14, 17, and 71 — set for a primary in June.
As of Monday, 24 total legislative races would have a June primary, with some of those races having three and even four candidate filings.
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.
