In Montana, Amy Eddy defeated Dan Wilson in the November 2026 nonpartisan general election to the Montana Supreme Court. The candidates were running to succeed outgoing Justice Beth Baker, whom Bolts has described as a member of the court’s liberal bloc. Baker first won her seat in a 2010 nonpartisan election. She was retained in 2018 but did not file for re-election in 2026.
Baker’s successor, Amy Eddy, whom Bolts has described as liberal, won her race by 18 points. Her opponent, Republican-endorsed Dan Wilson, garnered about 41% of the vote. While the elections for Montana Supreme Court justices are officially nonpartisan, Wilson has described himself as a conservative. Both Eddy and Wilson sit on Montana’s 11th District Court, which covers all of Flathead County in northern Montana. Eddy was initially appointed to her seat in 2015, and Wilson was elected to his in 2016. Both candidates previously worked as attorneys in private practice.
Montana, which has had a Republican trifecta since 2021, has held a 4-3 liberal majority on its state supreme court since before Baker was first elected in 2010. Despite Montana trending more conservative in recent years — it has not elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 2018 — voters kept the liberal majority on the state’s highest court.
The liberal majority will remain on the court for at least two more years. In 2028, two seats are up: Justice Jim Shea of the liberal bloc and Justice Laurie McKinnon of the conservative bloc. It is unclear whether either justice will seek re-election, but the court’s ideological makeup will be on the ballot.
This article was originally published by Ballotpedia and is republished under its Creative Commons terms, unedited.