James Brown signs his candidate filing paperwork. (Photo: James Brown campaign)
With 10% of ballots in Montana counted, Republican James Brown appeared to be leading his Democratic challenger John Repke by a 2-to-1 margin on Tuesday night.
Brown, the current chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission, had recently come under fire for signing in at the office using the name of superheroes, but that seemed to have little effect on his chances as he appeared poised to cruise to victory.
Brown had tallied 50,135 to Repke’s 26,350 about two hours after polls closed in the Treasure State.
Whoever wins the position will replace outgoing Auditor Troy Downing who appears to have won the race for Second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
Downing has been the auditor for four years. Prior to that, Matt Rosendale served in the position before being elected to Congress.
The Auditor’s Office oversees securities and insurance, including investment companies and even bail bonding service.
Brown has been a key figure in recent election races. The attorney based in Dillon was involved in a series of lawsuits where he represented Western Traditions Partnership, a dark money group that described itself as combatting environmental extremism. Later, Brown ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court.
In 2020, he won a seat on the five-member Montana Public Service Commission, where he has served as its chairman, including during some controversial hearings on substantial rate increases by the state’s largest utilities. He’s also been a key figure in hiring an executive director for the PSC, which handles complex utility and rate case. Brown has been credited by lawmakers with tackling a critical audit that showed internal practices at the commission had been lax when it comes to business expenses.
Repke is a financial executive from Whitefish. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the PSC in 2022.