The seven seats and court of the Montana Supreme Court (Photo by Eric Seidle/ For the Daily Montanan).
The two nonpartisan races for open seats on the Montana Supreme Court remain too close to call, based on election results posted by the Montana Secretary of State’s office around 11:30 p.m., which show roughly 163,000 ballots have been processed statewide.
In the race to replace outgoing Montana Chief Justice Mike McGrath, Jerry Lynch and Cory Swanson were separated by 1% —1,500 ballots — in early returns, which includes results reported from Missoula County. Swanson was leading.
For Montana Supreme Court Seat 3, Katherine Bidegaray holds a stronger 13% lead over Dan Wilson, according to initial results.
There are seven seats on the Montana Supreme Court, including the chief justice. All positions for the state’s highest court, and only appellate court, are elected statewide, rather than by district, and are nonpartisan.
Both races are for open seats without incumbents.
The chief justice serves for eight years and serves as the chief administrator for the state’s highest court. Lynch is a former U.S. federal court magistrate who served in that role for 28 years, while Swanson was elected Broadwater County attorney in 2014, a position he still holds.
Bidegaray currently serves on the Seventh Judicial District bench covering Dawson, McCone, Prairie, Wibaux and Richland counties. She’s been elected four times as judge for the district court since 2003.
Wilson is a former prosecutor who has served as a Flathead District Court Judge for 12 years.