Republicans gathered at the Armory Hotel in Bozeman on Tuesday night cheered as updates rolled in showing strong election results across Montana, reflecting what party leaders say is their solid standing in the state.
“We basically have the whole state now,” said Montana GOP Chair “Don K” Kaltschmidt on Wednesday, speaking to MTN. Since 2016, Republicans have gained momentum in statewide elections, a trend that continued as Republican Tim Sheehy won Montana’s second U.S. Senate seat, defeating Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester. This marks the first time since 1911 that both U.S. Senate seats for Montana will be held by Republicans.
The GOP also held on to both of Montana’s U.S. House seats and swept state executive races, including the governor’s office. Kaltschmidt said the scale of Republican victories exceeded expectations, adding, “We feel very, very good. We believe that we have definitely ‘red-printed’ Montana.”
Just a decade ago, Democrats held four out of five state executive offices and both Senate seats. Kaltschmidt attributes the shift to the GOP’s alignment with Montana values and what he called “political refugees” moving to the state, seeking greater freedom. “We had all these people move in here, that wanted freedom,” he said. “I think Montana is now a free state – and very much a Republican state.”
Kaltschmidt also emphasized the responsibility Republicans now have as the dominant party both in Montana and federally, saying, “We need to come together. We need to work with Democrats, going forward in the House and in the Senate. Here in Montana, I think the governor and everybody on down wants to do that. We need to come together as a state here in Montana, and we need to come together as a country.”
By: Montana Newsroom staff
