Campaign reports show where statewide candidates stand financially a month before primary

A month out from Montana’s June 4 primary, Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen have big cash leads over their opponents, and the race for chief justice of the Supreme Court is also bringing in large amounts of money, according to recent campaign finance filings from candidates running for statewide offices.

With election season in full swing, candidates must report their fundraising and expenditures nearly every month starting in April and up through November’s election. The most recent filings were due April 20 and cover the period of March 16 through April 15 for most candidates.

The filings show Republican incumbents have been far outraising their opponents, but fundraising and spending in some open seats, like the races for Superintendent of Public Instruction and Supreme Court chief justice, have been more evenly paced so far between the candidates.

Absentee ballots are set to go out next Friday for the primary; the candidates will have to file another campaign finance report by May 20, which will provide further insight into where they stand financially about two weeks before the primary election.

Governor

Gianforte, the incumbent Republican, raised $157,000 from March 16 to April 15 for the primary and another $72,000 for the General Election. That brought him to $921,000 in receipts so far for the primary and another $466,000 for the General Election. He spent $84,000 during the month and ended the period with $837,000 in the bank for the primary and $466,000 for the General. Candidates can transfer their leftover primary election money to their fund for the General Election.

His Republican primary challenger, Rep. Tanner Smith, R-Lakeside, raised $31,000 during the month, including $15,000 in loans to his campaign, to bring his total raised so far to just more than $50,000. He spent $42,000 during the month, however, and started this next period with just under $8,000 in cash.

Democrat Ryan Busse raised $150,000 during the monthlong period, bringing his total fundraising effort so far to $404,000. But he spent more than he raised during the month, about $159,000, and started the current period with $245,000 in cash for the primary. In his General Election account, he raised $22,000 during the month and has another $97,000 in cash. Busse has no primary opponent.

Libertarian candidate Kaiser Leib reported raising and spending no money during the month. He has $2.99 in cash.

Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Austin Knudsen raised $41,000 for the primary, bringing his total so far to $179,000, and spent about $19,000. He ended the period with $160,000 in cash for the primary. He also raised another $15,000 for the General Election and now has $70,000 in cash for that race as well.

His Republican opponent, Logan Olson, has not reported any fundraising or spending so far.

Democrat Ben Alke, who does not have a primary opponent, raised $15,000 during the month to bring his total fundraising to nearly $82,000 so far. He spent roughly $8,000 during the month and has about $74,000 in cash on hand.

Secretary of State

While there are no contested primaries in the Secretary of State’s race, the filings show how the candidates’ accounts are shaping up for the General Election.

Incumbent Republican Christi Jacobsen raised another $29,000 for the primary and spent only $3,000, leaving her with about $37,000 in cash for the primary. She has another $123,000 in cash for the General Election.

Her cash dwarves that of Democrat Jesse Mullen, who has about $24,000 in cash between his primary and General Election accounts – most of it for the primary. He raised about $7,000 from March 16 to April 15 and spent about $8,000.

Libertarian John Lamb has not reported raising or spending any money so far.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

The race for the open Superintendent of Public Instruction seat is the closest in terms of fundraising among the major statewide races.

Republican Susie Hedalen, currently the Townsend School District superintendent, raised another $12,000 during the month for the primary and spent about $8,400, leaving her with about $35,000 in cash for the primary. She also raised another $5,000 for the General Election and has about $20,000 for that portion of the race.

Her Republican primary opponent, Sharyl Allen, raised about $1,400 during the month, spent about $1,000, and has around $3,000 in the bank.

Democrat Shannon O’Brien, currently a state senator from Missoula, who will not face a primary opponent, raised another $27,000 during the month and spent $16,000. She ended the period with just under $40,000 for the primary and another $10,000 for the General Election.

State Auditor

Republican Jim Brown, currently the Public Service Commission’s president, leads the three State Auditor candidates by far in terms of fundraising and cash on hand. He brought in another $13,000 during the month for the primary and spent about the same, leaving him with $22,000 in cash for next month’s election. He has another $1,000 in cash for the General Election.

His primary opponent, John Jay Willoughby, raised $1,100 from March 16 to April 15 and has about $1,600 in cash on hand.

Democrat John Repke, who does not have a primary opponent, did not report raising any money during the period. He has just more than $1,000 in cash.

Supreme Court Chief Justice

The chief justice race is also garnering significant fundraising and spending as three candidates vie for two spots on November’s ballot in the nonpartisan race, but there are two clear leaders so far.

Former federal magistrate Jeremiah “Jerry” Lynch leads so far in cash on hand, with $116,000 for the primary and another $13,000 for the General Election. He raised about $24,000 during the month for the primary and spent about $17,000. He also brought in another $8,600 for the General Election.

Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson outraised Lynch during the month, bringing in nearly $43,000 in contributions for the primary. He spent about $22,000 during the month and had about $88,000 in cash for the primary at the end of the period. He also brought in another $10,000 for the General Election and has about $12,000 in cash for the General.

Gianforte and his wife, Susan, both donated money to Swanson during the month. The two have also donated to Hedalen, who is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Dan Wilson, who is running for the other Supreme Court Justice seat that is up for election this year.

Doug Marshall did not file a campaign finance report for the period.

Supreme Court Justice #3

Katherine Bidegaray, a 7th Judicial District Court judge, leads the three candidates for the Supreme Court seat in terms of cash. She raised about $25,000 during the month and spent about $7,000, leaving her with about $79,000 in cash for the primary. Bidegaray raised $3,300 for the General Election as well.

Wilson, a Flathead County District Court judge, isn’t far behind in terms of fundraising and cash. He raised about $21,000 during the month and spent about $10,000 leaving him with around $64,000 in cash for the primary. He also raised about $800 for the General Election and has about $4,500 for that portion of the race.

Jerry O’Neil, a former lawmaker, raised about $130 during the month and reported spending none but did loan himself some money to pay for filing fees and travel.

Clerk of the Supreme Court

Incumbent Republican Bowen Greenwood raised nearly $25,000 during the month for the primary and spent around $2,300, leaving him with more than $27,000 in cash a month before the primary election. He also raised about $2,000 for the General Election and has another $6,000 in cash for the General.

His primary opponent, Senate President Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton, did not report raising any money during the month. But he did report spending around $21,000 for signs and materials to put them up.

In the Democratic primary, Erin Farris-Olsen is the only candidate to report raising or spending any money so far. Farris-Olsen raised nearly $7,000 during the month and spent just $118 for the primary and has about $9,000 in cash. She also reported raising $790 for the General Election.

The other Democrat in the contest, Jordan Ophus, did not report any fundraising or spending, nor did the Libertarian running for Clerk of the Supreme Court, Roger Roots.

Public Service Commission District 2

Though the two Public Service Commission seats up for election this year are not statewide elected seats, they are part of the five-member elected body that regulates utilities, railroads and pipelines in Montana.

Kirk Bushman, previously a Republican Public Service Commissioner in the same district, came into the period with about $15,000 in cash and reported not raising or spending any money during the month.

His opponent in the Republican primary, Sen. Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, loaned his campaign $10,000 as part of the $12,000 he brought in during the month. He spent about $1,300 and ended the period with about $11,000 in cash.

Democrat Susan Bilo had $1,200 in cash to end the period after raising $50 during the month and spending nothing.

Public Service Commission District 3

Only two of the four candidates in the PSC District 3 race, both Republicans, filed campaign finance for the period, according to the Campaign Electronic Reporting System.

Suzann Nordwick reported raising $5,000 from March 16 to April 15, including donations from PSC Vice President Jennifer Fielder and District 5 Commissioner Annie Bukacek. Nordwick spent about $760 and started the current reporting period with about $5,400 in cash.

Jeff Welborn, a Republican state senator from Dillon, raised $4,800 during the month and spent about $2,600, leaving him with about $2,600 in cash.

Republican Robert Elwood did not file a report for the period, nor did Democrat Leonard “Lenny” Williams.