Montana Supreme Court Elections 2024

UPDATE: 6 a.m. – Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Cory Swanson appears to have won the seat for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court with 254,071 votes, or 54%, ahead of Jeremiah Lynch, who received 216,967 votes, or 46%, with 82% of votes counted.

Katherine Bidegaray appears to have won the other contested seat on the court with 255,110 votes, or 54 percent, over Dan Wilson, who received 217,901 votes, or 46 percent.

ORIGINAL REPORT

This year, Montana residents voted to fill two open seats on the Montana Supreme Court, an Associate Justice and a Chief Justice. Polls recently closed and races have yet to be called.

The candidates for chief justice are Jerry Lynch and Cory Swanson.

Jerry Lynch is a former federal judge for the District of Montana who works in Missoula. Lynch, a Butte native, worked as a law clerk for federal judge and former Montana Chief Justice Paul Hatfield. He then worked in private practice for ten years before serving as a judge from 2006 to 2019.

Cory Swanson of Townsend has been the district attorney for Broadwater County since 2015. He previously served as deputy attorney general under former Attorney General Tim Fox. He is also an officer in the Montana Army National Guard.

The candidates for Associate Justice are Dan Wilson and Katherine Bidegaray.

Dan Wilson of Kalispell is one of five judges in the 11th Judicial District, which includes Flathead County. He was elected to office in 2016 and re-elected in 2022. Wilson previously worked as an assistant district attorney, then spent about a decade in private practice, working in a variety of areas – including family law and criminal defense. In 2010, he was elected Justice of the Peace for Flathead County.

Katherine Bidegaray of Sidney has been a district judge since 2003 – one of two judges in the 7th Judicial District, which includes Richland, Dawson, McCone, Prairie and Wibaux counties on Montana's eastern edge. She said her rural and eastern Montana background would bring a different perspective to the court.