(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Montana OPI, AG, auditor match-ups take shape • Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- June', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img'] Date: 2024-06-04 Republican Susie Hedalen will take on Democrat Shannon O’Brien in November for superintendent of public instruction in the general election if early primary results hold. In the Republican primary, Hedalen, endorsed and funded by establishment Republicans, was far ahead of Sharyl Allen, a former deputy superintendent at the state’s Office of Public Instruction. At press time, Hedalen, Townsend School District superintendent and member of the Board of Public Education, had 64% of the vote with most of the counting still ahead. Allen had 36% of the vote. This spring, Allen pleaded not guilty to obstructing a peace officer, but she said she was enforcing a Harrison Public School District policy that prohibits law enforcement from interviewing children without parental notification. She was put on paid leave as superintendent last month, according to the Missoulian. O’Brien, a Missoula state senator, was education policy advisor to former Gov. Steve Bullock and also worked as dean of Missoula College. She ran unopposed in the primary. Outgoing Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, a Republican, lost her bid as a primary candidate in the eastern Congressional district. Attorney General Incumbent Austin Knudsen was winning at press time over Republican challenger Logan Olson. However, in a case playing out with the Commissioner of Political Practices, Knudsen bragged at an event that he himself had recruited Olson to run a fake campaign in order for Knudsen to be able to raise more money. Knudsen had 82% of the vote to Olson’s 18% an hour-and-a-half after polls closed. Democrat Ben Alke was running unopposed, and the Bozeman attorney’s name is set to appear on the November ballot. Montana has not had a Democrat as attorney general since former Gov. Steve Bullock held the seat, from 2009 to 2013. State Auditor The race for State Auditor looks to be a fight between Republican James Brown and unopposed Democrat John Repke in the general election. Brown, currently president of the Montana Public Service Commission and a lawyer from Dillon, had 68% of the vote compared to Republican and insurance salesperson John Jay Willoughby’s 32% at press time. The Republican winner will face Repke, a Whitefish business executive who lost a Public Service Commission race in 2022. Repke was unopposed in the primary. Current State Auditor Troy Downing won his bid for the Republican nomination to represent Montana in the eastern Congressional district, according to the Associated Press. Secretary of State The primaries were uncontested for Secretary of State. Incumbent Republican Christi Jacobsen will run to keep her post against Democrat Jesse James Mullen. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/06/04/montana-opi-ag-auditor-match-ups-take-shape/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/