19 February 2018 — 1505 mst

Flathead legislative and county filings update

Updated on 20 February 2018 at 1355 MST, and on 21 February 2018 at 1405 MST. It was mostly quiet on the Flathead filings front last week. David Dunn, a Whitefish resident, filed for the Republican primary in House District 9, the NE Kalispell/Evergreen district (map) now represented by Republican Randy Brodehl. The seat is open, as Brodehl is termed-out and has filed for Flathead Commissioner. Dunn has one primary opponent, Warren Illi, who filed on the first day of filing. No one has filed for a Flathead County office since 31 January. Flathead Memo’s chart of filings is below.

The filing window closes at 1700 MST on Monday, 12 March. Thus far, two Democrats running for federal office have not filed: Sen. Jon Tester, who is running for a third term, and Jared Pettinato, who’s been campaigning for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House.

Updated. Tester will filed on 20 February 2018. He’s probably going to combine the paperwork with a campaign kickoff rally that’s partly a reward for his staff and volunteers, and partly to generate a news story about the rally. That blatant media manipulation generally irritates reporters.

Updated on 21 February 2018. Pettinato filed late on 20 February 2018. Pettinato may not file. According to The Montana Post, he’s one of the speakers at the 10 March Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner in Helena (Joe Biden is the main speaker; tickets have been sold out for weeks). I think there’s more than a minuscule probability that he’ll pontificate at the dinner, then announce two days later that he’s abandoning his candidacy. I think the MDP should only award speaking slots to candidates who have paid their filing fees.