by Helena Lovick | Sep 5, 2025 | Cascade County, Elections, Politics, Republicans
Great Falls, MT
Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki switched his party affiliation last week from Democrat to Republican. The county attorney released a reaaaallly believable statement about why he switched parties. (Somehow, he forgot to mention that he made the switch because he was worried about re-election…hmmmmm.) The rumor is a Republican was going to run against him and Racki wanted to hold on to his position during next year’s election.
In his statement, Racki said:
For the past several years, we have watched the Democratic party change its stance on law enforcement. Movements to ‘defund the police,’ attacks on law enforcement officials and officers, and putting criminals before victims has gone too far. The Republican Party puts the safety and freedom of law-abiding citizens first by standing with law enforcement.
Huh.
Did Josh memory hole the Republican riot on January 6, 2021? Democrats weren’t the ones beating a police officer with a flag pole, tasing, pepper spraying, and trampling officers at the U.S. Capitol. If Racki doesn’t remember that, then I have some questions about his mental ability to serve as the county attorney.
This you?
Source: https://www.fox29.com/news/rioters-maced-trampled-capitol-officers-new-documents-show-depth-of-jan-6-attack
This you?
Source: https://www.wusa9.com/article/features/producers-picks/dc-police-officer-describes-fighting-for-his-life-as-rioters-dragged-him/65-5405dfde-6c19-4c99-9160-e8a3d4173987
This you?
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/officer-who-responded-us-capitol-attack-is-third-die-by-suicide-2021-08-02/
The January 6th attack was a shameful disgrace as Republican fascist rioters overran our nation’s capital — incited and encouraged by then president, Donald Trump.
Can you imagine seeing what the Republican party is currently doing to destroy our country and thinking, mmmm, get me some of that??
In the Cascade County Democrats’ response statement to Racki’s party switch, they accurately stated:
The Cascade County Democrats are dedicated to safer communities not only through law enforcement but also supporting first responders, prevention programs, recovery programs, education, access to quality healthcare for all, a growing economy and lowering the cost of living. The Republican party is currently dismantling all of these systems at the local level all the way up to the federal level…. the Cascade County Democrats will continue to do the hard work of building a future that is better for ALL Montanans.
Josh Racki Is Finally Honest With Voters
Yeah, we saw it coming
To be honest with you, the majority of active local organizers and Cascade County Democrats saw this coming from a mile away. One obvious sign is Racki is good friends with Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, also a party flipper for political gain. Hang around with clowns become a clown.
At least now he’s being honest with the voters. Maybe some memes will help explain the situation Josh is in:
How diD you kNow he’S RePublicaN?
Josh Racki last week, probably. Living his authentic truth.
An illustration in two parts
Now, enough talking about that loser. We don’t have time for the complicit enablers. We’ve got a fascist movement to turn around in this country.
by Ken Toole | Aug 19, 2025 | Cascade County, City, Elections
Most of us believe we are in deep political trouble in this country. The Trump Administration with its lying, bigotry and bullying has demonstrated it is firmly on the road to unapologetic fascism. Here in Montana our statewide elected officials are a group of millionaires and billionaires in the Republican Party who either agree with Trump or are afraid of him. . . it’s hard to tell which. And here in Cascade County, local Republican Party ideologues dominate almost all local elected positions.
This is not a time for good citizens to sit back and watch the show. This is a time people need to step up and take back our government. And that is most effectively done at the local level. Take a look at the filings in this post and you can see Republicans are already mobilizing. We must do the same. There is plenty of time to file, but the sooner people get into the process the more likely it is that they will win. So, what’s stopping you? Step up and join the fight for democracy.
This WTF406 post has information on local political races. The information was taken from the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices website. There are numerous elections not included in this post. For example, there is nothing on Neighborhood Council races nor is there any information on local judicial races. In addition, it is worth noting that filing deadlines for municipal races have passed. Filing for all other races is still open and will be until spring.
Public Service Commission
District 1, Randy Pinocci, Republican, Incumbent
Pinocci is term limited
Jeremy Trebas, Republican, Treasurer, Jeremy Trebas
Jeff Pattison, Republican, Treasurer, Katie Wenetta
House Of Representatives
HD 19 Jane Weber, Democrat, Incumbent
Jane Weber, Democrat, Filed for 2026, Treasurer Pam Guschausky
HD 20 Melanie Nikolakakos, Republican, Incumbent
No filings as of 8-18
HD 21 Ed Buttrey, Republican, Incumbent
Lela Graham, Democrat, Treasurer, Charlene Graham
Trevor Fundseth, Republican, Treasurer, Trevor Fundseth
Eric Peterson, Republican, Treasurer, Patti Levesey
HD 22 George Nikolakakos, Republican, Incumbent
Kevin Leatherbarrow, Republican, Treasurer, Tony Rosales
HD 23 Eric Tilleman, Republican, Incumbent
Eric Tilleman, Republican, Treasurer, Waylon Finley
HD 24 Steve Fitzpatrick, Republican, Incumbent
Steve Fitzpatrick, Republican, Treasurer, Steve Fitzpatrick
HD 25 Steve Gist, Republican, Incumbent
No Filing as of 8-18
HD 26 Russ Miner, Republican, Incumbent
Russ Miner, Republican, Treasurer, Russ Miner
Senate
SD 10 Jeremy Trebas, Republican, Incumbent
Melissa Nikolakakos, Republican, Treasurer, George Nikolakakos
Jessica Dyrdahl, Republican, Treasurer, Tony Roslaes
Margaret Mitchel, Democrat, Treasurer, Lew Opollito
SD 11, Daniel Emrich, Republican, Incumbent
George Nikolakakaos, Republican, Treasurer, Melissa Nikolakakas
SD 12, Wendy Mckamey, Republican, Incumbent
No filing as of 8-18
County
County Commission, District 1, Jim Larson, Republican, Incumbent
Tom Lynch, Republican, Treasurer, Eric Tilleman
County Sheriff, Jesse Slaughter, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
County Attorney, Josh Racki, Democrat, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
Clerk and Recorder, Sandra Merchant, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
County Treasurer, Diane Heikkila, Republican, Incumbent
No Filings as of 8-18
City of Great Falls (non-partisan election)
Mayor
Filing Deadline has passed
Cory Reeves, Incumbent, Treasurer, Cory Reeves
Jasmine Taylor, Treasurer, Desirae Starling
Council (two positions)
Matt Pippinich, Treasurer,Barbara Bassette
Joe McKenney, Treasurer, Greg Smith
Casey Schreiner, Treasurer, Erin Merchant
Pete Anderson, not available
by Ken Toole | Aug 12, 2025 | Cascade County, Politics, Travel
Pishkun Reservoir sits eighteen miles west of Choteau nestled along the Rocky Mountain Front. The 1500 acre reservoir is part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Sun River Project which provides water to farms and municipalities all along the Front and out onto the prairie. The area is subject to high winds and extreme temperatures. Because it is an irrigation project water levels change dramatically throughout the year There is a small developed camping area which is run by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Like almost all camp sites, the Pishkun campground has a reader board at each entry with information about the rules, maps and contact information. Most of the information on the reader board is put up and maintained by the Montana Department Fish Wildlife and Parks. But at Pishkun there is a new posting from the Federal Bureau of Reclamation soliciting information from those using the camp ground.
The Bureau of Reclamation wants to know if you have identified;
-any areas that need repair or;
-any services that need improvement or;
-any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.
The post script at the bottom of the page reads; This effort is in accordance with implementing DOI Secretarial Order 3431; Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.
Clearly, Donald Trump’s war on factual history has arrived in a far corner of Montana. Are we really expected to notify the Bureau of Reclamation of “signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans”? Does that include songs around a camp fire or even bumper stickers on vehicles?
Read Trump’s executive order here: https://www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so-3431-restoring-truth-and-sanity-american-history
by Ken Toole | Aug 8, 2025 | Cascade County, Republicans
Far right opponents of Representative Llew Jones have been circulating the above graphic on social media
The internal war in the Montana Republican Party rages on. The recent controversy at the State GOP convention continues to draw attention to the feud between the more centrist “Solutions Caucus” supporters and the far-right “Montana Freedom Caucus.” After the convention, the Freedom Caucus turned to social media and radio to attack fellow Republicans they deemed to be RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).
GOP Convention Rumble In Helena
The GOP convention was held in Helena in late June. In violation of party rules, Senator Barry Usher moved to “not recognize” nine senators who had worked with Democrats during the 2025 legislative session, stripping them of their right to participate as convention delegates. Despite being ruled out of order by the party chairman, the vote proceeded, and Usher’s motion was approved, resulting in the senators being unable to vote in the convention. 🔗 Source
Three of the nine senators are currently challenging that decision and are calling for a “do-over” of the convention voting. In a lawsuit filed in Lewis and Clark County District Court on August 5th, Senator Jason Elsworth of Hamilton, Denley Loge of St Regis and Shelly Vance of Belgrade are asking the court to restore their voting rights and force a new vote on party leadership. https://montanafreepress.org/2025/08/06/disenfranchised-at-convention-republican-lawmakers-sue-mtgop/
Art Wittich- Far Right And Sleazy
New officers elected at the convention included Art Wittich, an attorney and longtime political operator, who was elected chair of the party. Former Republican legislator Russ Fitzgerald from Teton County put it this way:
“More alarming, the Freedom Caucus elevated Art Wittich to state party chair. I now call him the ‘Cleanser-in-Chief’ for leading this pogrom in the state party. Wittich’s past includes a $68,000 fine—one of Montana’s largest—for campaign finance irregularities during his 2010 Senate campaign.”
In 2016, Wittich was convicted of violating Montana campaign laws after failing to report nearly $20,000 spent in his legislative race in Gallatin County. That figure did not include additional money spent by “independent expenditure” groups promoting his candidacy. Wittich featured prominently in the 2018 documentary film Dark Money, which provided a detailed exposé of corruption in our political process.
🔗 More on Wittich
Grulkowski Loses Another Election
Former Cascade County Commissioner, election denier, and purveyor of wild conspiracy theories Rea Grulkowski was defeated in a bid to be GOP vice chair by Stacy Zinn. Grulkowski was clearly the darling of the Freedom Caucus crowd. She was nominated by Theresa Manzella, the founder of the Montana Freedom Caucus and an election denier extraordinaire.
🔗 See our previous post
Manzella pointed out in her nomination speech that Grulkowski was not officially endorsed by the MT Freedom Caucus, although her nomination was seconded by Senator Barry Usher, who has served as the treasurer of the Montana Freedom Caucus. Manzella said Grulkowski was not formally supported because she did not know enough of the members. Grulkowski was ultimately defeated by Stacy Zinn, a retired DEA agent and former unsuccessful candidate for Montana’s Eastern District congressional seat. Zinn received 124 votes; Grulkowski had 106.
Then There Were The Battles During The Legislature
The 2025 legislative session was characterized by infighting among Republican legislators. Right out of the gate, a group of nine Republican senators objected to the committee assignments they were given, calling those assignments a “parking spot.” They worked with the Democratic minority to stifle the rules proposed by Republican leadership, bringing the Senate to a virtual standstill. As the session progressed, the nine senators proved to be staunch allies of Governor Greg Gianforte and joined a bipartisan group of 20 to 25 representatives to pass property tax cuts and Medicaid expansion. (That’s what we call moderates?!)
🔗 More on that
What Ever Happened To Matt Rosendale
It’s hard to recap all the battles in the Republican civil war—there have been so many. Ten years ago, the Cascade County Republican Central Committee imploded after a far-right Freedom Caucus push to sanction and remove members they didn’t like.
🔗 Read the story
Then there’s the mysterious case of National Freedom Caucus leader and Montana Representative Matt Rosendale. After weeks of playing coy with the media about whether he would challenge Jon Tester for his Senate seat, Rosendale finally announced he was in. Then, six days later, he withdrew after Trump announced he was endorsing Tim Sheehy in the Republican primary—likely because Rosendale had snubbed Trump by refusing to take his call on the House floor.
🔗 Rosendale drama
Within a couple of weeks, Rosendale announced that he was not running for re-election to his seat in Congress. There’s little question he would have been a shoo-in to retain his seat. His decision prompted widespread speculation about the “real” reason. On a political podcast, North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp said the rumor in D.C. was that he had allegedly impregnated a 20-year-old congressional staffer. Whatever the reason, Rosendale quickly exited public life and politics.
🔗 Rumor recap
They’ll Be Back!
In the last election, three Freedom Caucus supporters in Cascade County—Steven Galloway, Lola Sheldon Galloway, and Rae Grulkowski—were defeated in the Republican primary thanks to the work of more centrist Republicans and progressives who crossed over to vote in the Republican primary. (There was only one contested Democratic primary on the ballot.) If the Freedom Caucus crowd has demonstrated anything, it’s that they don’t give up or compromise. They’ll be back in the 2026 election. Stay tuned.
