Democrat Rep. Debo Powers retained her House District 3 seat in the state Legislature in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election, while the House District 4 seat flipped to Democrat Paula Koch, marking a blue stronghold in deep-red Flathead County. 

Koch, a Columbia Falls junior high teacher, earned 55% of the votes in the HD4 race, 460 more than Republican Shaun Pandina. The district covers Columbia Falls and the east side of Whitefish. 

Pandina won handily in the Republican primary over incumbent Lyn Bennett, who served one term.  

In the 2024 election, Bennett defeated Democrat Lindsey Jordan with 52% of the votes. This year, Koch not only flipped the seat from red to blue but nearly doubled the margin. However, Koch did not win all the precincts that make up the district.  

Pandina won Precinct 9, the southern half of Columbia Falls below U.S. 2, with a vote margin of 696-654. He also handily won precinct 11, the rural area between Columbia Falls and Whitefish, with a margin of 446-219.  

Koch won precinct 10, the north half of Columbia Falls, 460-407; precinct 12, downtown Whitefish and the avenues neighborhood, 906-303; and precinct 13, east Whitefish south of the railroad tracks, 509-436. 

Koch estimates she will lose about $11,698 in salary in order to serve, as she has to pay back the school district to hire a substitute teacher while she serves. The figure is the difference between her teaching salary and the $128 per diem pay she gets as a legislator. 

"The win isn't just for me. It's for all the people of House District 4," Koch wrote in a social media post. "I am truly humbled by the level of support this campaign received. The goal of this campaign was to listen and represent all. That is exactly what I intend to do in Helena."  

Koch thanked Pandina for his willingness to represent the community and said she respected his clean campaign.  

"I promise to keep showing up, keep listening and keep working toward the things you have told me matter most: quality healthcare, affordable housing, clean air and water and access to our public lands," she wrote. 

In HD3, Powers earned 55% of the votes, 551 more than Republican Derek Peachey, a Whitefish tech entrepreneur, baseball coach and self-described family man focused on property taxes.  

Powers more than doubled the margin of victory from 2024, when she earned 52% of the votes, 247 ballots more than Republican Cathy Mitchell.

The district includes the northern and western portions of Whitefish, north to Olney, and along U.S. 2 to West Glacier and the North Fork area. 

Powers, a longtime educator, has been a proponent of public lands, education and affordable healthcare, and loosely agreed with Peachey on the need to revise property tax laws. 

Powers won in Precinct 2, north Whitefish to Polebridge, 291-233; Precinct 3, south Whitefish, 778-486; and Precinct 6, north Whitefish to the Viking Creek area, 706 to 320.  

Powers won Precincts 4 and 5 less handily. In Precinct 4, East Lakeshore Drive to Big Mountain, Powers won by just one vote, 356 to 355. In Precinct 5, west Whitefish by Lion Mountain, Powers won 294 to 273.  

Peachey won solidly in more rural Whitefish precincts – in Precinct 7, Skyles Lake to Olney, 466 to 405; and Precinct 8, around Haskill and Trumbull creeks, 618 to 474.  

Powers first served in HD3 in 2019, when she was appointed following the resignation of three-term Democratic state Rep. Zac Perry. 

Powers lost HD3 in 2022 to Republican Rep. Braxton Mitchell, but prior to the 2024 election, there was redistricting that gave a more competitive foothold for Democrats.  

Powers ran again in 2024 and won, while Braxton Mitchell moved to HD5, where he won the vote in both 2024 and 2026. This year Mitchell easily defeated Democratic challenger Luca Welle, a Whitefish High School graduate, 3,731-1,538. 

Mitchell is the House Majority whip. This will be his last term in the state House. Republicans still maintain control of the Montana House and Senate, though Democrats made inroads. 

"I’m very excited about the election results and ready to get back to Helena to work for the people of House District 3," Powers said. "We have a lot of work to do to solve some problems like fixing the glitches in the property tax rules and putting regulations on data centers and fully funding quality public education."  

"I woke up this morning and looked at the stunning snow-covered mountains in Glacier National Park and said to myself, 'I get to live in the most beautiful place on the planet, and I get to represent the people who live here! What could be better than that?'"  

Peachey congratulated Powers on the victory, affirmed mutual respect and gave appreciation for a clean, issues-based campaign.  

"While the results were not what we wanted, nor expected, the journey was worth it," Peachey wrote on his campaign website. "Let’s rally behind our legislators willing to work with both sides to fix property tax and tackle our challenges with common sense and grace. God Bless Montana!" 

At the county level, incumbent Republican Brad Abell easily beat Democrat challenger Nathan Dugan, 31,813-19,071. 

Dugan, a Whitefish resident, affordable housing advocate and director of Livable Flathead, won seven of 55 precincts. He won every Whitefish precinct. 

Tim Wenz beat Anegla Ream, 25,691-17,591 for justice of the peace.

In the Public Service Commission District 5 race, incumbent Republican Annie Bukacek won 50,748-45,408 over Democrat Kevin Hamm. That vote could be important as the state sees more pressure to build data centers. 

Amy Eddy defeated Dan Wilson for Supreme Court Justice.  

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino and Sheena Sterling for Flathead County clerk and recorder both won unopposed after winning the Republican primaries in June.  

In the congressional races, Democrat Sam Forstag topped Republican Aaron Flint for western Montana's congressional district, 132,003-122,694. The seat is currently held by Whitefish resident U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who announced his retirement ahead of the primary election. 

In the eastern congressional district, Republican incumbent Rep. Troy Downing beat Democrat challenger Brian Miller, 127,346-70,431. 

Republican Kurt Alme will be a senator after he won 232,916-181,674 over independent candidate Seth Bodnar. Democrat Alani Bankhead received 58,555 votes.  

Editor Kelsey Evans can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.  Hungry Horse News Editor Chris Peterson contributed to this report.