by Guest Writer | Mar 28, 2026 | Money, Politics
Prominent Repubs and Dems Tired of Partisanship, Money Fueling MT Politics
By Bill Lombardi
As factions in Montana Republican and Democratic circles vigorously debate the use of “Dark Money” and spar over outside influences on state races, a new nonprofit has emerged to leverage the seeming rising power of “moderates” who shun party influence and cut legislative deals that anger their partisans.
Beyond Party – Montana First
Called Beyond Party – Montana First, this new nonprofit is helmed by a crew of key Republicans and Democrats who want to temper the partisanship engendered by political parties and ensure that politicians get support to create policy that appears to benefit Montana citizens and not just one political party or another.
“Beyond Party is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting the principles of good government,” the group, which registered with the Montana Secretary of State last October, says on its website.
The group says that “your contribution nurtures Republican and Democratic principles articulated in the Montana constitution by empowering principled candidates, countering the corrosive forces of unrelenting partisanship and unlimited money, and mobilizes citizens to reclaim self-governance at every level.”
Beyond Party President Daniel Kemmis of Missoula told me that members were “motivated” to break from party rule after nine state Senate Republicans (dubbed the “Nasty Nine” by hard-core GOP members) famously teamed up with Senate Democrats last year in the Montana Legislature to “stop really bad legislation, especially about partisan elections for the judiciary.” Currently, candidates don’t declare partisan leanings in judicial races.
“Our feeling has been, that especially those that are in red [GOP] districts, that we’d like to not see them [the nine Republicans] get knocked out,” Kemmis told me. “Most are likely to get primaried. Part of the motivation is to see if there is anything we can do to protect and help these courageous Republicans. And beyond that, we just want to see if there’s anything useful we can do to lower the partisan temperature overall.”
But The Temperature Keeps Rising
The temperature, however, keeps rising in advance of the June 2026 Montana legislative primaries. The feud between more-moderate GOP members, who call themselves Montana Conservative Republicans, and the staunch GOP members who run the party and guide the Montana Freedom Caucus, is boiling over, with social-media darts being lobbed back and forth between the factions.
Montana Freedom Caucus Facebook Post
Far-right Republicans accuse “moderate” Republicans of working with and taking money from Democratic and “progressive” operatives, like Fireweed Campaigns of Helena, while “moderate” GOPers accuse the far-right of being bankrolled by dark money from the Koch-brothers’-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and beholden to “out-of-state interests” and “party bosses.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are, more modestly and discreetly, carping at one another over the same issues – the use of “dark money” that allows donors to be anonymous and is used to elect “moderate” Republicans; the influence of outside groups in dictating who will run for office; and the intervention of a U.S. Senate candidate [Seth Bodnar] who is using former staff and consultants of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester to run as an independent while criticizing both parties and raising money through the Democratic Party’s ActBlue political action committee account.
Beyond Party wants to eschew the unpleasant work of politics to attract independents
The kind of internecine rugby occurring in both major political parties in Montana is of little use to Beyond Party.
Beyond Party, it seems, wants to eschew the unpleasant work of politics to attract independents and others who want to get things done without getting their hands dirty in partisan shenanigans.
That’s a heavy lift, especially as politicos fiercely compete for attention in a world disorganized by the Texter-In-Chief, President Trump, who has rewired the communication synapses of the masses and patented outrage as a national treasure.
Beyond Party will “actively participate” in elections: “We won’t just endorse; we’ll educate, analyze, and provide clear, unbiased information,” the nonprofit’s website says.
Beyond Party has two purposes: to protect the foundational principles of good government, and to ensure the republic stays strong, relevant, and rooted in the will of the people. Moreover, it will defend citizen self-governance, open government, the democratic process, an independent judiciary, separation of powers, and rule of law.
Who are the bipartisan nonprofit’s founders?
- Former GOP Montana Attorney General and Gov. Marc Racicot, who has publicly criticized President Trump’s sensibilities, judgment and “autocratic compulsions”
- Former Democratic state Sen. Mike Halligan of Missoula, a Vietnam veteran, lawyer, and philanthropic leader who helmed the The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation
- Missoula attorney Mae Nan Ellingson, who served as a Republican – and youngest – delegate to the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention and has been a distinguished lawyer in state finance law and champion of civic education and constitutional integrity
- Former state GOP Rep. Joel Krautter, a Billings attorney who unsuccessfully ran for Montana’s eastern congressional seat in 2024 and is known for his bipartisan work for rural communities
- Former state Senate President Bob Brown, a teacher and political historian who also served as Montana Secretary of State and ran unsuccessfully for governor as a Republican in 2004
- Former Kalispell Police Department Chief Frank Garner, who served in the Montana House of Representatives as a Republican and worked across the aisle on public safety, accountability and government integrity
- An eastern Montana farm kid who graduated from Harvard, Kemmis is Beyond Party’s president and is a former Democratic speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, former Missoula mayor, and an author who opines on democracy, leadership and civic life
Beyond Party wants to encourage “moderates” of the Republican and Democratic Parties
Beyond Party does kindly critique political parties on its website: “We acknowledge that political parties have played an important role in American democracy from the outset, and that money has played a similarly important role. But we believe that the role of both parties and money should be kept subordinate to the common good. Because that has not happened, unrestrained partisanship and unlimited money have become the twin challenges of our current political system.”
Other efforts to help elect or reelect so-called “moderate” Republicans in GOP-leaning legislative districts in Montana may have more money. But Beyond Party, Kemmis said, has “slender” funding from “some of our friends. We don’t have any big money at all, and really don’t expect to have any.”
Kemmis said he persuaded the group to be transparent, including in how it’s funded. “I’m not certain that we can stick with that and raise enough money to be effective,” he added.
In a follow-up interview, Kemmis said,“I don’t think parties are going to go away.
“If it were up to me to design things, I wouldn’t have this deeply entrenched two-party system. We would be better off if there were room for more parties,” Kemmis said. “I think the most we can do is when we get into polarized situations we should try to encourage the more-sensible people near the middle of both parties so there is some chance of doing joint problem-solving. To me, that’s the most important thing – to be able to be pragmatic in solving some of the big problems we face. When the two parties are locked in a death grip, it becomes difficult to do this.”
Asked about fundamental principles the group supports, Kemmis said, “The core is democracy itself. But that depends on the ability to deliberate. So you have to be able to work across ideological lines at least to the extent to work things out. Another key is some kind of equity on the financial front so that money doesn’t have more of a role in the process than it should have. There has to be some equity and fairness about where the resources come from. That’s not the case now, and there has to be transparency.”
Is “Beyond Party” the path to end the polarization?
It’s hard to keep up with Montana’s intraparty ping-pong matches. Yet it’s fun, vibrant, and lets voters decide – hopefully out in the open – what kind of candidate and political philosophy that they want. To close the blinds on that sunshine would be a disservice to Montana voters, whose historic libertarian and populist streaks are the best counter to too much of anything.
And, simply, let party members choose which faction they like – or if they don’t like political parties, at all.
by Guest Cartoonist | Mar 16, 2026 | Politics
by Ken Toole | Mar 7, 2026 | Independent, Politics, Republicans
Most of us were stunned at the Machiavellian maneuvering on the last day of the filing period for public office in Montana.
After a brief period of “will he or won’t he file as a Democrat,” Seth Bodnar filed as an independent for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat on March 4 at 9:17 AM.
Some time after that Steve Daines withdrew from the Senate race.
Billings lawyer, Kurt Alme, filed to run for the Senate seat at 4:52 PM on March 4, just eight minutes before the deadline.
So here’s one reason for the last minute shuffle on the filing deadline.
Republicans understood that Seth Bodnar could be a compelling candidate if he filed as a Democrat. Much less so if he filed as an independent. Incumbent Daines is the strongest person to protect that Republican seat from a serious Democratic challenge.
Early in the morning of the last day to file Bodnar files as an independent which kicked off this Spy vs Spy conspiracy. Daines resigns. Hours later Alme announces he is running with the support of Daines, President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and Gov. Greg Gianforte. Obviously this plan has been in the works for some time.
But why would Daines do this now rather than waiting until after the election? It’s hard to argue that Alme or anyone else in the Republican ranks would be as strong a candidate as Daines, who has the power of incumbency and $4.9 million in the bank before the race even starts.
The answer is simple. If Daines resigned after the election the process to fill a vacant Senate seat is that the State Republican Central Committee nominates three people, and the Governor selects from those names. And the truth is the GOP in Montana is dominated by far-right looneys and Daines and his pals didn’t trust them to nominate someone who doesn’t wear a tin hat to bed. Someone like Alme (who would be a big improvement over Daines in the Senate).
Or it could just be that Daines is a megalomaniac who couldn’t stand not choosing his successor.
You decide.
See our previous posts on the Montana Senate race
Handing Steve Daines The Next Election?
Open Letter To Seth Bodnar
Tester Disses Democrats
by Ken Toole | Feb 17, 2026 | Facebook, Fight, Politics, Republicans
The Conservative Choice for Cascade County! Vote George Nikolakakos
It all started when local Republican legislator George Nikolakakos posted an award he won from the Conservative Political Action Conference for conservative achievement. Sleazy Jake just couldn’t stand it, and the fight was on.
But first a little background. Most of our readers know that Nikolakakos is a “traditional” Republican legislator from Cascade County. The Liberty Bell, a far-right paper you find at some local stores, compares Nikakakolas and his legislator wife, Melissa, to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage and executed in 1953 during the Cold War.
Jake Eaton is a right-wing political operative out of Billings. He has most recently aligned himself with the most right-wing elements of the Republican Party. Beyond that he has a long record of playing fast and loose with facts and money. For some details about Eaton, check out WTF406.com’s previous post. The background on Eaton begins about halfway through this post about attack ads directed at Matt Rosendale. https://wtf406.com/2023/10/rosendale-slimed-in-new-tv-ads/
Let’s Get Back to the Fight. It begins with George’s announcement.
(the below exchange is copied directly from Facebook. No edits have been made)·
Jake Eaton responds
In no world is George a conservative. He voted for higher taxes and huge increases spending. Along with supporting Democrats efforts to block judicial accountability. He could generously be called a moderate Republican. The only way you could call him a conservative is if you were referring to him as a conservative Democrat.
George Nikolakakos to Jake Eaton
I appreciate your “generosity” Jake! Why would our conservative Governor support these “higher taxes” and huge spending increases? No one buys that bullshit. Why do you hate our Governor so much? I’m proud to stand by his agenda and our accomplishments.
Also you’re right! I’ve knocked many thousands of doors… The way we turned Great Falls from blue to red in 5 years is because old school common sense conservative ex-democrats and independents have rejected woke BS and want normal people to represent them. Tester won my district while I won it by 25 points. That’s because the people of Great Falls still want independent minded, real, common sense conservatives, not burn it all down cos-play garbage.
Jake Eaton to George Nikolakakos
everyone can see that your tax shift raised taxes on farmers, ranchers and small businesses. They just look at the bills and see they are higher than last year – pretty simple. I’d think even a dimwit like you could read the tax bills and understand that. This legislature spent billions more than the Governor’s proposed budget. $1 billion alone in the Llew Jones bureaucracy slush fund.
George Nikolakakos to Jake Eaton
Funny because when I’m knocking doors I pull up I-tax and show people their tax bills. Almost every time it’s $500+ less. That’s because for 90%+ plus it is. And what they can’t see is the other 500 that would be higher if we didn’t pass the Governors Homestead exemption. Why are you standing with out of state Big Sky short term rental billionaires against hard working Montanans trying to raise families and retire here? Sad!
Eric Hinebauch, Chair of the local Republican Central Committee, to Jake Eaton
you are a hard one to figure out! You sure like to run your mouth against our local legislators, but here’s the deal Cascade County homeowners experienced real tax breaks. So keep running your mouth, but Cascade County knows better than to listen to some career hired gun. Jake you are the SWAMP in Montana, we need more George Nikolakakos’s and less SWAMP creatures like Jake Eaton!
Jake Eaton to George Nikolakakos
yes you shifted taxes from homeowners to farmers, ranchers, renters and small businesses. You didn’t reduce the amount of money being collected you just shifted who pays for it. Ask the renters who are seeing double digit rent increases thanks to your vote how much they care that you saved $500. Ask the small businesses paying thousand more on their commercial space if they care about their $400 rebate on their house. Also you clearly don’t even know what you voted for, the homestead exemption hasn’t even gone into effect yet, that begins in tax year 2026.
Jake Eaton to Eric Hinebauch
homeowners may see a break but thanks to the tax shift renters, farmers, ranchers and small businesses are paying more. We didn’t actually cut taxes or reduce the money being collected from property taxes we just shifted who pays it. Cascade county does have some good legislators, George is not one of them.
George Nikolakakos to Jake Eaton
lame talking points paid for by the folks who buy your mouth as a hired gun. Ag was made whole which is why Farm Bureau and others didn’t oppose our prioritizing real Montanans. Small businesses saw a cut. The big players who saw cuts at our expense over the last 10 years are back at less than inflation increases, still less than they paid a few years go. We’re not paying for your crony special interests anymore bud. And we cut every. single. human Montanans income tax. And we balanced the budget. And we saved for a rainy day. And we properly funded law enforcement, roads, trades education, firefighting etc. My comments are not bought and paid for my special interests. Who is paying for your commentary today?
Jake Eaton to George Nikolakakos
I like that you totally ignored renters and small businesses and tried to focus on ag, when in reality they are also seeing increases. The difference between us actual conservatives and big government republicans like you is that you are fine with every increasing government spending, we are not. We all want to fund firefighting, police and roads but there is room to cut local spending and reduce the overall property tax burden. For example the Great Falls city administrator makes $70,000 more than the Governor. In Billings it’s $80k more. The Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent makes $50,000 more than the State Superintendent of schools. In Yellowstone county it’s $75k more. These local budgets are even more bloated than Llew Jones’ state budget and there is plenty of room to cut and reduce property taxes across the board.
George Nikolakakos to Jake Eaton
when did you start caring about renters? I passed an overwhelmingly supported Elderly and Homeowner/renter tax credit increase and had the govenror sign my bill to cut millions in property tax relief on PTAP. Renters do well under the new law as landlords like me have seen decreases. I own dozens of rentals and have seen decreases as have landlord friends. Certainly administrators can work for less. I support local governments who control those decisions making them. You support centrally assessed out of state players getting relief on our backs.That’s because they pay your salary and for the the words coming out of your mouth.
So, what does all this mean?
#1. The Republican party is eating their own.
#2. It is laughable to consider Nikolakakos a “moderate” in view of his voting record.
(See our previous post: https://wtf406.com/2025/08/myth-of-the-moderate-republican/ )
#3. Republicans are attacking our freedoms no what matter what they call themselves.
by Ken Toole | Feb 9, 2026 | Democrats, Elections, Independent, Politics
Mr. Bodnar,
We are writing about the recent news coverage of your potential run for the U.S. Senate. If you are seriously considering such a run, we urge you to run as a Democrat rather than as an Independent.
Those urging you to run as an independent because a Democrat “can’t win” are wrong. Their opinion is apparently based on polling and Jon Tester’s recent loss to Tim Sheehy. Some “professional political people” in Montana are advocating that organizations and institutions forming the traditional Democratic base support moderate Republicans and Independents rather than Democrats out of desperation. They are mistaken. We wrote a blog post on the past performance of Independent candidates in Montana. We urge you to read it: https://wtf406.com/2026/01/handing-steve-daines-the-next-election/
Before going further, we would like to point out that the public discussion of this Independent scheme is all about strategy and game playing. Politics, at its best, is about the issues and policy initiatives to address those issues. At its worst, politics is anything-goes cynical game playing. . . and lots and lots of special interest money. Obviously, this Independent strategy falls into the second category.
In addition to the historical evidence in our post, we urge you to consider a couple other points.
First, the idea that your race as an Independent will avoid the tarnished brand of Democrats is naive. Before you have even announced, the Republicans are out with an attack ad: https://www.montanarightnow.com/montana/political-group-releases-ad-targeting-departing-um-president-seth-bodnar/article_309940b3-3514-463e-bbb9-ffd45149f759.html. The chair of the Missoula Republican Central Committee has an editorial circulating in papers around the state calling you “Sneaky Seth” among other things. Whether you run as an Independent or a Democrat, you will be smeared by the Republican attack machine. Steve Daines will be extremely well funded and will run a dirty campaign.
Second, Democratic base voters are a significant segment of the population you would have if you prevail in the primary. Instead of looking at polling, which is increasingly unreliable, we encourage you to look at actual election results in Montana. The 2024 election in the Eastern Congressional District illustrates the value of Democratic base voters. The Democratic candidate in that race was John Driscoll. Despite the fact that Driscoll ran virtually no campaign, he garnered 33.9 percent of the vote simply because he had a “D” behind his name on the ballot. That percentage would be even higher in the Western District. In the Eastern District race in 2022, Independent candidate Gary Buchanan captured only 22 percent of the vote.
As the deadline for filing approaches, we hope you will carefully consider which party more closely aligns with your beliefs on issues and realize that you have very little chance of prevailing as an Independent in Montana.
Sincerely,
WTF406
by Helena Lovick | Jan 25, 2026 | Cascade County, Military, oligarchy, Politics, Propaganda, Rallies
Great Falls, MT
The news hit of another murder by ICE/CBP in Minneapolis on January 24th, 2026, just days after the murder of Renee Good. The victim was an ICU nurse without a criminal record, Alex Pretti, 37 years old. A video of the incident shows Pretti recording activities with his cell phone before he is forced to the ground by federal agents and shot.
Immediately, without providing any evidence and certainly not based on video evidence, the White House is pushing lies that Jeffrey Pretti was a “would-be assassin” and “trying to murder federal agents.” Never show restraint and wait for the truth to come out of an investigation if you can make up lies to attack a left-wing person instead, am I right?
This is the textbook right-wing response we keep seeing. When reality doesn’t fit your narrative, photoshop it so it does. And in the case of dTrump, when your documented pedophilia might come back to haunt you, obscure attention from the Epstein files by starting a war on the American people in blue states.
Please let me lick your boots! – MAGA
Like clockwork, the MAGA faction just accepts every lie and talking point fed to them by Daddy dTrump. They can’t possibly be wrong about him; it must be the rest of the world that is wrong!
Trump is pushing for US control of Greenland because he’s pouting about not getting a Nobel peace prize. Nuh uh. That’s fake news! That’s out of context!
A mom driving in her neighborhood of Minneapolis near ICE agents and getting murdered for it. Can’t be true! She was a fucking bitch. She must have ran over the federal agent and that’s why she deserved to die!
A family simply driving past ICE activity in their community and getting tear gassed almost killing their 6-month-old. Why did they take their kids to a protest? FAFO babies!!
Trumplethinskin and his cronies ARE the baddies
Hey MAGAs, instead of twisting yourselves into a pretzel to justify every shitty, illegal, and straight up evil thing done by the dTrump administration. Consider. Maybe. Just maybe. The orange menace and his cronies are the baddies.
Yes, yes you are!
And no, it’s not about immigration enforcement. If they were truly worried about dangerous undocumented immigrants running amuck, why aren’t they focused on Texas and Florida where many more undocumented immigrants reside? Oh right, because that’s bullshit. We know it is retaliation.
Well, we can’t work with them. So how can we resist this?
What can Great Falls Residents Do?
SHOW UP. There are now daily protests on the Central Ave West bridge in Great Falls. At noon on the weekends and at 4 PM on the weekdays, weather permitting. For your own safety at protests, do not engage with counter protesters. You have a first amendment right to film public activities. But maintain space between yourself and dangerous situations.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. In Montana, our current Congressional delegation (Zinke, Downing, Daines and Sheehy) are all Trumpers, but make it uncomfortable for them. Make them have to hear our opinions. Tell them to stop funding ICE.
If you don’t know where to start, KEEP SHOWING UP. Go to rallies, go to meetings, go to community educational events. Ask questions, be loud, be a voice for empathy and humanity.
Find out where you can help and do it. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait to be told. If you see a need, fill it.
I read an article by a journalist observing the resistance to ICE that is taking place in Minneapolis. And one of the things she talked about was the widespread push back people are doing there and that there is no “central” leader, but several decentralized leaders are organizing throughout the city. Be that leader or find one to work with.
We all are needed and if everyone that is as concerned as me about the direction of this country steps up, we will win. We can do this. Don’t be discouraged. Keep Going.
