Who's running: A roundup of Bitterroot Valley candidates for the Montana Legislature

As the 2026 election cycle heats up in Montana with a flurry of last-minute maneuvering during Wednesday’s filing deadline, the races to represent Ravalli County in the Montana Legislature are taking shape.

Ravalli County consists of four House Districts (HD 85, HD 86, HD 87, HD 88) and two Senate Districts (SD 43 and SD 44). All four Ravalli County House seats as well as one Senate seat, all currently held by Republicans, will be up for grabs in the 2026 election. The filing deadline to run for office in the 2026 election was March 4.

Senate District 43 is currently represented by Hamilton Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth, whose term expires at the end of the year. He will be running to represent House District 34 in eastern Montana. Ellsworth provided a Hamilton P.O. Box to the Montana Secretary of State’s office as his mailing address with his candidate filing. He has until May 3 to establish residency in HD 34. Ellsworth is currently the subject of an ongoing criminal case following alleged misconduct as the previous Senate president.

House District 86 incumbent Rep. David Bedey of Hamilton and House District 85 incumbent Rep. Kathy Love of Hamilton are both running in the Republican primary to fill the seat being vacated by Ellsworth. Both Bedey and Love’s terms as representatives in the state House will expire at the end of this year. Hamilton Democrat Stephen Leuchtman has also filed to run for the seat. He will be unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face the winner of the Republican primary on the November ballot.

Former House District 85 Rep. Michelle Binkley of Hamilton has filed to run for her former seat currently occupied by incumbent Rep. Love, who is running in Senate District 43 against Rep. Bedey. Binkley will face Florence Republican Kim Dailey in the June primary. Hamilton democrat Laura Jackson has also filed to run for the HD 85 seat. Jackson is unopposed in the June primary and will face the winner of the Republican primary on the November ballot.

Former House District 88 Rep. Wayne Rusk of Corvallis will run against Kenneth Allen of Hamilton in the Republican primary for the House District 86 seat being vacated by incumbent Rep. Bedey. Hamilton Democrat Archie Thomas has also filed to run for the HD 86 seat. Thomas is unopposed in the June primary and will face the winner of the Republican primary on the November ballot.

Incumbent Terry Nelson of Victor has filed to run for election in House District 87. Nelson was appointed to the HD 87 seat in March of 2025 when Rep. Ron Marshall stepped down. Nelson has no opponent in the primary race. Stevensville Democrat Bill Jones has also filed to run for the seat yet. Jones is also unopposed in the June primary and will face Nelson on the November ballot.

Incumbent Republican Greg Overstreet of Stevensville has filed to run for re-election in House District 88. Overstreet has no opponent in the Republican primary race. Democrat Evan Schroedel has also filed to run in the June primary for the HD 88 seat. He is also running unopposed and will face Overstreet on the November ballot.

Primary elections will be held June 2 by mail. Absentee ballots will be mailed out May 8. The 2026 general election will take place Nov. 3.

To see who's filed to run for local office in Ravalli County, please click below.