Nonpartisan state Supreme Court elections face political test in Montana

Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson campaign across Montana in a high-stakes judicial election. The November contest tests judicial neutrality and could reshape the future direction of consequential state statutes.

Both candidates serve as district court judges in Flathead County. Eddy edged Wilson by fewer than 8,000 votes out of around 270,000 cast in a June primary.

Both advanced to the general election rematch because they were the only candidates running. The winner will replace a retiring judge who has sometimes served as a swing vote.

Montana voters face a dual choice this November. They will choose between the two officially nonpartisan candidates. They will also vote on a constitutional amendment to mandate nonpartisan judicial elections.

Campaign Spending and National Attention

The state contest ranks among the most intense of roughly two dozen high court races nationally. Millions of dollars flow into the campaigns.

The American Civil Liberties Union spends $5.5 million across high court contests in Michigan, Montana and North Carolina. The organization previously spent over $1 million on high court races in Georgia and Wisconsin.

“State supreme courts are really, really important , increasingly important , arbiters of rights and liberties,” said Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Last year, donors spent more than $100 million on an officially nonpartisan Wisconsin Supreme Court race. That race kept liberals in narrow control of that court.

The liberal Wisconsin majority struck down an abortion ban law. It also overturned state legislative maps benefiting Republicans.

No high court contest is expected to match that total cost this year. Interest groups still target several states to position themselves for major races in 2028.

“What happens in this year’s races will determine how likely it is that the ideology of the court flips in 2028, when that is in fact at stake,” said Douglas Keith, deputy director of the judiciary program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

Partisan Clashes Over Court Decisions

The Montana Supreme Court previously struck down state laws restricting abortion. It also invalidated measures limiting voter registration on Election Day.

The court upheld a ruling that Montana violated constitutional rights to a clean environment. The state had permitted oil, gas and coal projects without considering global warming.

Eddy served as a fill-in judge on the Supreme Court. She joined the majority ruling that abortion laws violated privacy protections under the state constitution.

Republican lawmakers responded by introducing numerous bills targeting the judiciary. One new statute allows political parties to contribute money to judicial campaigns.

A bill requiring partisan judicial elections passed the Senate. It died in the House.

Citizen activists gathered petition signatures to place the nonpartisan amendment on the November ballot. The American Civil Liberties Union contributed $2.1 million to the ballot effort, according to finance reports filed at the end of September.

The group also mailed flyers highlighting Eddy’s support for abortion rights. The Democratic-aligned group Defend Our Courts backs Eddy as well.

Eddy said accepting money from political parties “undermines the public’s trust that the judicial branch can be impartial.”

Wilson received campaign contributions from multiple Republican Party committees. He spoke at a GOP event earlier this year.

Wilson pointed out Eddy’s donations from attorneys.

“That’s more dangerous and corrosive to the objectivity of judges,” Wilson said.

Outcomes in Other States

Partisan battles over state courts have altered benches nationwide. Kansas voters rejected an August proposal to elect supreme court justices instead of appointing them.

North Carolina lawmakers restored partisan judicial races in 2018. Republicans regained court control there during the 2022 elections.

The conservative North Carolina majority later upheld a voter photo identification law. It also overturned an earlier ruling against a Republican-drawn congressional map.

Ohio enacted a 2021 statute placing party labels next to supreme court candidates on general election ballots. Republicans subsequently widened their majority on the bench.

The progressive organization Alliance for Justice Action targets both Ohio and North Carolina to eventually regain majorities. Democrats defend a seat in North Carolina, and each party defends a seat in Ohio.

“It has been a slow process of losing judicial support in those spaces. It will be a slow process to regain it,” said Tish Gotell Faulks, state courts director for the group.

A constitutional amendment on a state ballot requires direct voter approval before becoming law. Measures placed on the ballot through signature petitions allow citizens to vote on proposed changes to government systems.

Voters across Montana will settle the court race and the amendment at the ballot box.