Montana 2026 Election & Infrastructure Intelligence

# Montana 2026 Elections and Infrastructure Overview ## Election status Montana held its primary on June 2, 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The federal general-election fields are now defined, while independent ballot qualification should continue to be refreshed against the Secretary of State. ## Statewide political stakes The U.S. Senate seat is open after Steve Daines declined to seek another term. MT-01 is also open following Ryan Zinke's retirement. MT-02 remains an eastern Montana contest. Public Service Commission Seats 1 and 5 are unusually important for Praevoium because the commission regulates utility rates, large-load service, generation and transmission. ## Infrastructure baseline Montana is moving from a relatively small data-center market toward potentially very large industrial electricity loads. NorthWestern Energy disclosed development agreements with Sabey Data Centers, Atlas Power and Quantica. Combined demand is expected to begin around 150 MW in late 2027 and could reach approximately 1,500 MW or more by 2030. Montana law already provides a specialized tax class for qualified data centers. HB 424 revised the Class 17 property-tax structure in 2025. A separate statute allows a qualified data center that owns generation to sell electricity to a utility or cooperative at no more than audited cost of production. ## Primary Praevoium fault lines - Who pays for generation and transmission required by large loads - Whether Colstrip and new thermal generation become central to AI infrastructure - Water and land-use effects in fast-growing western communities - Data-center tax treatment and local fiscal benefits - PSC authority over dedicated tariffs and service contracts - Public lands, mining, critical minerals and permitting - Malmstrom Air Force Base, missile infrastructure and cybersecurity - Rural broadband and long-distance transmission ## Candidate posture summary Direct candidate statements on data-center siting are limite

Race	Status	Candidates	Impact	Key issue

# Montana Research Gaps and Refresh Rules - Recheck independent candidate certification weekly until the final ballot is certified. - Refresh FEC receipts, spending and cash-on-hand after every filing deadline. - Search weekly for direct candidate statements on AI, data centers, utility tariffs, water, Colstrip and dedicated generation. - Do not convert broad energy support into a direct data-center posture without project-specific evidence. - Refresh NorthWestern Energy large-load disclosures after each quarterly filing and PSC docket update. - Track PSC proceedings involving large-load rules, service agreements, generation and transmission cost allocation. - Display “No verified public poll” unless a named pollster, sponsor, field dates and sample are available. - Preserve the 2028 Presidential Election Intelligence section as Coming Soon.