HELENA, Mont. – More than 20 candidates filed with the Montana Secretary of State’s Office on Friday, including two Congressional candidates – one in each district.

Twenty-five candidate filings were processed on Friday, with more than 20 candidates visiting the Secretary of State’s Office at the Capitol to make their candidacy official. Twenty-three legislative candidates filed on Friday and two non-legislative candidates also filed.

Candidate filing formally kicks off the 2022 election season in Montana. The state will have two United States Representative seats on the ballot after the U.S. Census Bureau announced its state population data last year.

On Friday, former United States Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke became the fifth candidate to file for U.S. House District 1. Zinke previously served as Montana’s lone Congressman from 2015-17. Kyle Austin filed for U.S. House District 2 on Friday, becoming the fourth official candidate in Montana’s eastern district.

Current U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale filed for U.S. House District 2 on Wednesday.

All 100 state representative seats will be on the 2022 ballot, while 26 state senators will also be decided by Montana voters. To date, 180 candidate filings have been processed for the Montana House and Montana Senate – 142 in the House and 38 in the Senate. Seventy-four legislative incumbents have filed to appear on the ballots in 2022.

Twenty-three non-legislative candidates have filed, with nine vying for Montana’s two Congressional seats.

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.