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Early Montana SupCo results: Justice Gustafson, Brown, to advance to general – Daily Montanan

['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- June']

Date: 2022-06-07 00:00:00

Incumbent Justice Ingrid Gustafson and GOP-endorsed James Brown were leading Tuesday night in the race for Montana Supreme Court justice.

First Judicial District Court Judge Mike McMahon was trailing albeit with just 13 percent of precincts fully reporting,

“I think I’ve done a good job for Montanans and I haven’t taken people’s problems and issues before me lightly,” said Gustafson, a justice since 2017, to the Daily Montana during the campaign.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Brown released a statement saying he was humbled to see the level of support for his candidacy.

“Montanans have made it overwhelmingly clear that they want a justice that will protect our constitutional rights and our way of life, and that’s exactly what I will accomplish as your next justice,” Brown said in part.

The two winners of the race will advance to the November general election. By 10:15 p.m., Gustafson had 52 percent of the vote, Brown counted 33 percent, and McMahon had 15 percent.

The race is technically nonpartisan, but politics have played an outsized role in Montana’s judicial system since the 2020 elections.

The Montana Republican Party executive board voted to endorse Brown, as did Republicans U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Brown is president of the Public Service Commission and lawyer who has represented conservative interests.

Gustafson was appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Judy Martz in 2004 and then appointed to the Supreme Court in 2017 by Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. She won an election in 2018.

McMahon has described himself as a conservative jurist and strict constructionist, but he and Gustafson have been attacked as a liberals. McMahon beat a Democratic-appointed judge in 2016.

Incumbent Justice Jim Rice and challenger Bill D’Alton were the only candidates to file for the other open seat on the Montana Supreme Court, so both advance, but the results give them a bead on voter sentiment before the general election. Late Tuesday, Rice had 76 percent of the vote and D’Alton had 24 percent.

This story will be updated Wednesday.

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