Candidate filing opens Monday for county, state and federal offices
KRISTI NIEMEYER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 2 weeks AGO
Kristi Niemeyer is editor of the Lake County Leader. She learned her newspaper licks at the Mission Valley News and honed them at the helm of the Ronan Pioneer and, eventually, as co-editor of the Leader until 1993. She later launched and published Lively Times, a statewide arts and entertainment monthly (she still publishes the digital version), and produced and edited State of the Arts for the Montana Arts Council and Heart to Heart for St. Luke Community Healthcare. Reach her at [email protected] or 406-883-4343. | February 11, 2026 11:00 PM
With candidate flyers already appearing on doorknobs and in mailboxes across Lake County, it’s apparent that campaign season is already ramping up in Montana.
Candidate filing opens Monday, Feb. 17, and closes March 4 for federal, state and county offices.
At the county level, the Lake County Courthouse has a slew of openings. Terms expire at the end of 2026 for county attorney (incumbent James Lapotka), clerk and recorder/auditor (incumbent Kendra Steele), county commissioner District 1 (incumbent Bill Barron), justice of the peace (incumbent Rick Schoening), sheriff/coroner (incumbent Don Bell), superintendent of schools (incumbent Carolyn Hall) and treasurer/assessor (incumbent Rebecca Maso). All current office holders are Republicans.
The Lake County Conservation District has three openings for four-year terms. Those seats are currently held by Allen Branine, Susan Gardner and Sigurd Jensen.
Both District Court judgeships are on the ballot. Those posts are held by Molly Owen and John Mercer, who was appointed last January.
At the legislative level, the seats currently held by Republicans Tracy Sharp (HD 12) and Linda Reksten (HD 13), and Democrats Thedis Crowe (HD 15) and Shelly Fyant (HD 91) are on the ballot. In the Senate, the terms of Republican Mark Noland (District 6) and Democrat Susan Weber (District 8) expire this year.
Two statewide offices are open – those of Attorney General and Secretary of State, currently held by Republicans Austin Knudsen and Christi Jacobsen, respectively. Lake County’s representative on the Public Service Commission, a seat held by Commissioner Annie Bukacek, is open; as is an eight-year position on the Montana Supreme Court.
At the federal level, Western District Congressman Ryan Zinke’s term expires, as does the U.S. Senate seat held by Steve Daines. Both are Republicans.
Candidate filing information is available at www.lakemt.gov/175/Candidate-Filing-Information or sosmt.gov/elections/.
The Lake County Election Office is also offering trainings for election judges March 12- 27. For more information, call 406-883-7269.
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