Judge narrows focus of lawsuit against state GOP bylaws

A district court judge in Helena has narrowed the scope of a lawsuit seeking to invalidate sections of the Montana Republican Party’s bylaws that require loyalty oaths and allows the state central committee to remove members as will, according to plaintiffs. 

In an order on Tuesday, Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Michael McMahon decided an early temporary restraining order against the bylaws as a whole was too broad, and modified it until the court arrives at a  permanent ruling. 

In a statement, Montana GOP Chairman Art Wittich praised the judge’s decision. 

“The plaintiffs wanted to nullify the bylaws, passed by a 97% majority vote, in full,” Wittich said. “After our first opportunity on Monday to respond to their claims, the judge greatly narrowed the scope of the restraining order.”

The sections the state GOP cannot enforce include one defining the characteristics of Republican membership, term limits for precinct officers and central committee officers, and suspension or removal of members. 

But Jeff Essmann, a former state GOP chairman and current precinct committeeman who filed as a plaintiff in the suit, said the tailored ruling is not a win for the state party. 

“With the exception of one minor provision … every section of the bylaws that were challenged in our lawsuit to uphold our freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, are still subject to the restraining order,” Essmann said. 

The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the state party’s ongoing battle to define what it means to identify as a Republican

In June 2026, the Montana GOP met for its annual convention and adopted new party bylaws.

The complaint by two county central committees and several Republican party members argues that copies of the changes were not made available before the convention, a violation of Robert’s Rules of Order, and that several provisions are illegal by allowing the removal of members at the discretion of a small group of party leaders. 

Essmann said the latter part is a problem because it allows the state central committee to choose the members that are allowed to vote for state officers. 

“Those bylaws, as they are written, give the executive committee, which is 12 people, the right to suspend … any member of any county leadership in the Republican Party and any precinct level member, like myself, from the Republican Party,” he said. “And they hold us to what the very vague standard in the bylaws defines as the ‘purposes of the Republican Party.’”

The plaintiffs include the Yellowstone and Chouteau county Republican Central Committees, and several individuals including Rep. Brad Barker and Essmann. 

Other Republicans in the state have also shown support for the suit, including in Ravalli County, where the county central committee voted in favor of the lawsuit at its last meeting, according to Tony Hudson, who has been part of similar intraparty fights in recent years. 

But Wittich, who in the year since elected chairman has been working to consolidate a more conservative viewpoint within party leadership, said he expects the party will come out on top. 

“There is a difference between self-identifying as a Republican and voluntarily participating as a full member of our party, a political association with its own rules, responsibilities and authority,” he said. 

McMahon gave both sides two weeks to present their full case in writing, before he will issue a final ruling on an injunction. 

“Mr. Wittich has a right to his opinion, although these new bylaws of his are trying to remove my right to mine,” Essmann told the Daily Montanan. “It’s a choice– you respect the voters in each district, or you think you can override them. That’s just flat out wrong.”