Here’s a strange thing about the Republicans in the Montana Legislature — and it’s a hard thing to explain. Why is it that we have so many legislators who are close relatives? Maybe not surprisingly, they also break down across ideological lines. Also not surprisingly, they break down along the sides of the raging war within the Republican Party. There is only one pair of related Democrats, and they are cousins.
We are interested in your thoughts on why there are so many close Republican family members serving together in the legislature. There has to be some reason… not sure what it is. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
The Hard Right, Conspiracy Crowd
Here we see the Regier family of Kalispell. The current Senate President is Matt Regier. He was primarily responsible for the division of Senate Republicans when he tried to bury members he didn’t like with poor committee assignments. He failed and set off a conflict that dominated the entire legislative session. That conflict is still reverberating through Republican primaries across the state. That’s effective leadership for you.
His sister, Amy Regier, is currently in the House of Representatives. Their father, Keith Regier, served in the legislature (both House and Senate) until 2021.
Photo of Keith Regier
Photo of Matt Regier
Photo of Amy Regier
Next in line are Jedediah and Caleb Hinkle of Belgrade. Both are in the Montana House of Representatives. The Hinkle brothers are two of the most extreme right-wing representatives in the legislature. In the past, they have served as Chair and Vice Chair of the House Fish and Game Committee.
Photo of Caleb Hinkle and Jedediah Hinkle
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Steven and Lola Galloway of Great Falls. Both were defeated in the 2024 election. Steven is currently running for the Montana Senate against Ed Buttrey in the Republican primary.
Photo of Steven and Lola Sheldon Galloway
How extreme is Steven Galloway? Check out this video in our previous post:
The More Traditional, Main Street Business Republicans
These married couples are closer to the political center of the already very conservative Montana Republican Party (which is currently dominated by the far right). Do not be confused by the people who call them “moderates.” They are anti–reproductive freedom, receive low scores from environmental groups, and oppose reasonable restrictions on gun ownership.
First, George and Melissa Nikolakakos of Great Falls. Both are current members of the Montana House of Representatives. George is running for a seat in the Senate. His opponent in the primary is Randy Pinocci. Pinocci is probably best known for numerous arrests and for falling asleep in Public Service Commission meetings before he lost his seat on the PSC due to term limits.
Here are links to selected previous WTF406.com posts about Nikolakakos and Pinocci:
Melissa Nikolakakos is currently being challenged by Tony Rosales in the Republican primary. Tony Rosales switched from being a Libertarian to running as a Republican in this election. Rosales ran in a nonpartisan election for school board in Great Falls in 2025.
Photo of George and Melissa Nikolakakos
Husband and wife Daniel and Katie Zolnikov both serve in the legislature representing Yellowstone County — Daniel in the Senate and Katie in the House. Daniel considers himself an expert on energy issues and is unopposed in this election. Katie has no primary opponent and will face Mike Eaton on the general election ballot. She also focuses on energy issues in the legislature.
Photo of Daniel and Katie Zolnikov
The Father and Son Who Take Care of Big Business
John Fitzpatrick currently represents House District 76 in Anaconda. He has a long history of representing large corporations in Montana and in the legislature. His résumé includes working for Pegasus Gold Mining (now bankrupt) and NorthWestern Energy, in addition to his own business activities. He is being challenged from the right by Trish Schreiber in the Republican primary. There is also an independent candidate, Shayne Morgan, who has filed in the race but has not yet gathered the signatures to be on the ballot.
Steve Fitzpatrick is John Fitzpatrick’s son. He currently serves in the Montana House representing House District 24 in Great Falls. He is an attorney for the silk-stocking law firm Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry & Hoven (BKBH), which also represents the Calumet Refinery in Great Falls. He does not have a primary challenger. In the general election, he will face Democrat Pam Carroll, a retired school district employee and current board member of Big Sky 55+, an advocacy organization for Montana seniors.
Below are selected previous WTF406.com posts about Steve Fitzpatrick:
We all should have received our ballots in the mail over the Mother’s day weekend. Most of us know there has been a lot of game playing in the primary this year. Perhaps the most bizarre is two Republican activists filed as Democrats. James Whitaker filed in Senate District 12 and Mark Winters in Senate District 11. Both men have consistently lied about their political affiliation. Even the chair of the local Republican Central Committee has said he does not believe they are Democrats.
And speaking of sleazy electoral moves, long term local Libertarian Party leaders have filed as Republicans. Tony Rosales filed in House District 20 and Kevin Leatherbarrow filed in House in House District 22. This pair has run for office repeatedly. Apparently they are tired of being Libertarian losers.
We should not forget that our current County Attorney, Josh Racki and Sheriff Jesse Slaughter switched from being Democrats to join the Republican Party. Obviously both of them were more committed to their own political careers than the platforms of either party. Neither of them has a democratic challenger in this election.
All of this maneuvering is a product of the current war in the local Republican Party between traditional Republicans like Ed Buttrey and George Nikakalakos and Republicans who wear tin hats to bed like Steven Galloway and Randy Pinocci.
This is a photo of a voter guide put out by the far-right contingent of the local Republican Party. If you know people who plan to vote in the Republican Primary you should give them this list (After recommending counseling and deprogramming). Let them know these are the extremists in politics everyone is complaining about.
Transparent: characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices. (Webster Dictionary Definition)
The local right-wing blog, E-City Beat has been running a series of posts on non-profit organizations in Great Falls. In introducing the series the editor says the reason for the series is “in the interest of public transparency”. All E-City Beat is doing is copying legally required, publicly available, financial reports. They provide no other information about the work and services these local organizations provide. Apparently E-City Beat makes no effort to contact the subject organizations (though several have responded in the comments that the financial documents don’t provide a complete picture of the organization’s work and are often not timely.)
We can’t help but point out the irony of a local blog that claims to support “public transparency” routinely fails to disclose the identity of the authors of their material. That could be because one of their frequent contributors is City Commissioner, Rick Tryon. Further, Tryon has been employed by Stray Moose Productions, which is owned by Phil Faccenda, the founder and editor of E-City Beat.
Probably one of the most hotly contested Republican Primary fights in Montana is between Nikolakakos and Randy Pinocci to replace Wendy McKamey to represent Montana Senate District 12. Also in Senate District 12 republican shill Jim Whitaker filed as a Democrat. Nikolakakos posted the below on Facebook.
“Normally don’t address my opponent in races much as it can elevate them but career politician Randy Pinocci is a literal criminal and his dark money overlords are spending 100’s of thousands in this race lying about me. Not even talking about the arguably criminal massive utility rate hikes and scandals we’ve experienced while he’s been on the PSC making 6 figures on our tax dime spiking his pension.
A serial litigant, he’s been involved in dozens of lawsuits to boot, including one regarding his Marijuana profit sharing agreement going to the supreme court.
Randy was a massive failure in the legislature passing only a single do nothing bill despite tons of attempts wasting tax payer money while he was caught repeatedly playing video games on the people’s floor.
Randy Pinocci has been an embarrassment to Great Falls for years. Time to send this career politician home.
We have two very different records. I’m confident the people of Great Falls will be doing the right thing and retire this clown.”
This year it seems there is a lot of game playing around legislative elections. We have leaders in the local Libertarian Party filing as Republicans and Republicans filing as Democrats. In Senate District 12 well known Republican Jim Whitaker has filed as a Democrat. See our post below.
(Kevin Leatherbarrow and Tony Rosales pictured promoting the Cascade Effect Podcast)
The Cascade Effect Podcast bills itself as “A true-crime anthology podcast investigating corruption and negligence of law enforcement in Cascade County, Montana, a county that is known for its heavy-handed police work as well as the incarceration and harassment of innocent civilians.”
The first season of The Cascade Effect investigates a confrontation between a sheriff’s deputy and a man named Michael Hanson which resulted in the death of Hanson and wounding of the deputy. Last summer a coroner’s jury deliberated for a short time and came back with a unanimous decision that the shooting was not by criminal means. The Coroner’s Jury found no wrong doing in Hanson’s death. (It’s a long, complicated story, thoroughly covered by The Electric) https://theelectricgf.com/2024/06/04/inquest-determines-feb-23-fatal-shooting-by-deputy-justified/
Subsequently, local Libertarian activists Tony Rosales and Kevin Leatherbarrow (both are currently running for legislative seats as Republicans) and local militia promoter Bart Crabtree all filed a writ of mandamus with the Montana Supreme Court seeking a citizens grand jury to investigate the determination of the coroner’s action absolving the deputy of wrongdoing. They were joined in this request by Jake Green, the producer of The Cascade Effect.
What Does Recovery Centers of Montana have to do with all of this?
Recovery Centers of Montana (RCM) has had a relationship with the sheriff’s office to provide referrals for rehabilitation services to inmates from the Cascade County Detention Center. Recently, Recovery Centers of Montana also became a sponsor of The Cascade Effect. Jake Green posted on Facebook that, four days after announcing their partnership, RCM received the email below from the sheriff’s office.
Good afternoon. Please see the directive below. From this point forward the Cascade County Detention Center will no longer facilitate or fund services for inmates associated with Recovery Centers of Montana. It has come to our attention that RCM is a sponsor of The Cascade Effect which is a podcast promoting false narratives about members of the Cascade County Sheriff’s office which we believe is a conflict of interest in dealing with RCM. Despite our differences we still intend to encourage defence attorneys and inmates to diligently work together in getting their clients into any and all forms of treatment including treatment from RCM. If you have any questions contact undersheriff Scott Van Dyke. Thank you for your time. Alicia Otis, Community Care Coordinator.
RCM said that they have not received any referrals from the sheriff’s office since receiving the email.
Those of us who have served in public office generally understand that we will have critics, and that those critics will make all kinds of public statements. But Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, in his desire to get back at The Cascade Effect because he doesn’t like their coverage of his office, has crossed a line. Not only is it unprofessional and peevish, it is likely a violation of the Montana Governmental Code of Fair Practices’ prohibitions of retaliation for human rights activity. Both The Cascade Effect and RCM can claim damages and seek payment from Cascade County. Whether either entity will do that remains to be seen. We have to wonder where County Attorney Josh Racki was while all of this was going on.
