Montana Supreme Court Election
What you need to know about the Montana Supreme Court election
It’s the most important election on your ballot!
Montana Supreme Court Election
Montana elects its Supreme Court justices in nonpartisan elections. The Montana Supreme Court is the state’s highest court and the final authority on questions of Montana law, including the meaning of the Montana Constitution. Its decisions affect constitutional rights, access to public lands and waterways, privacy, elections, and the balance of power among state institutions. One seat is up for election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, because Justice Beth Baker is not seeking another term. The candidates are Eleventh Judicial District Court Judge Amy Eddy and Eleventh Judicial District Court Judge Dan Wilson.
AFJ Action supports Judge Amy Eddy because of her judicial experience and stated commitment to an independent, nonpartisan judiciary.
Vote for Judge Amy Eddy by Tuesday, November 3
Judge Amy Eddy is the right choice for Montana. She is an experienced jurist who will be fair and impartial. Eddy brings over a decade of judicial experience and has overseen more than 10,000 cases on the bench. As a district court judge, Judge Eddy understands the law’s direct impact on individuals. She sees it every day in her courtroom.
Before joining the bench, Eddy spent approximately 15 years working as a plaintiffs’ attorney in private practice. Eddy understands what it means to fight against the corporations that seek to restrict your civil and human rights. For example, she fought corporations that sought to raise utility rates and restrict access to public waterways, and she worked to hold those bad actors accountable.
Public lands are currently under threat and at risk of being sold off. As an attorney, Eddy fought to preserve public lands for future generations and held the state accountable for failing to protect public lands by regulating fossil fuels. With the state supreme court charged with preserving Montana’s vast natural resources, it is critical to have a justice who will stand up for Montana’s public lands.
Eddy is also a fierce advocate for all working people. As a district court judge, the Montana Supreme Court selected Eddy to oversee pretrial proceedings for the newly created asbestos court. The court was created to hold Libby, formerly known as W.R. Grace & Co., accountable for the asbestos contamination that spread during mining. The state supreme court upheld Eddy’s rulings from the asbestos court, strengthening workers’ rights and protections.
Eddy will protect your constitutionally mandated freedoms, like your right to privacy. Sitting in for former state supreme court Justice Mike McGrath, who recused himself, Eddy joined an opinion that prevented state interference in personal decisions about pregnancy and upheld abortion access in the state. In a separate case she oversaw on the district court bench, Eddy wrote an opinion dismissing an attempt to throw out a case seeking equal education access for tribal and non-tribal communities.
Finally, Eddy has refused to take campaign contributions from political parties. She will preserve the independence and integrity of the Montana Supreme Court. The court has faced political attacks aimed at undermining its sole authority to interpret the state’s constitution. With no ties to political parties, Eddy will remain an impartial voice on the court.
By comparison, Judge Dan Wilson’s campaign for the Montana Supreme Court is a direct, aggressive, and shameless threat to the state’s historic judicial nonpartisanship and judicial independence. While Eddy refuses a single dime of partisan money, Wilson is raking in injections of hyper-partisan cash and actively campaigning at political events. He is a candidate bankrolled by and beholden to the state Republican party, as evidenced by his promises to deliver partisan conservatives’ judicial goals rather than independent justice. His donors and campaign supporters are a threat to Montana’s vast public lands and are directly tied to plans to sell off those lands.
Wilson’s deeply partisan political ties forecast a future in which he serves as a rubber stamp for the Republican party rather than an impartial decision-maker informed by Montana’s historic dedication to a nonpartisan judiciary. His decision to highlight his partisan credentials rather than his fitness to interpret the rule of law is a dangerous red flag that he will sabotage judicial impartiality and actively undermine constitutional protections, public land access, and environmental rights. This is especially troubling as voters turn out to declare their ongoing support for retaining a state supreme court free from partisan political considerations.
Don’t Forget About the Amendments
What is CI-132? CI-132 is a constitutional amendment that would keep judicial elections free from partisan politics. Currently, justices on the Montana Supreme Court are elected via nonpartisan elections, meaning candidates are not tied to a political party affiliation. This ballot measure is essential to ensuring the independence of Montana’s courts. Stop political influence and keep our courts impartial!
Over the past few years, Republicans in the state legislature have tried to politicize Montana’s courts by making judicial elections partisan. These conservative-led attacks came only because the Montana Supreme Court did its job and interpreted the constitution.
Through its decisions, the Montana Supreme Court has held corporations accountable for polluting waterways, ensured access to the ballot, and protected the right to abortion. Because of that, Republicans in the legislature launched an assault on the judiciary’s independence, seeking to change the process to inject partisan politics into the courts.
Vote YES on CI-132 to protect the courts, protect Montana’s constitution, and protect judicial independence!
SIGN THE STATE COURT VOTER PLEDGE AND GET CRITICAL REMINDERS
Pledge to be a State Courts Voter!
Paid for by Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, www.afjactioncampaign.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
