Republican legislators disenfranchised at the June Montana GOP officers’ convention are asking a judge to restore their voting privileges and force a new election for party leadership.
State senators Jason Ellsworth, Denley Loge and Shelley Vanceweren’t allowed to vote for Montana Republican Party leadership at the June 28 convention in Helena, where a new party Chair Art Wittich and Vice Chair Stacy Zinn were elected.
Ellsworth, of Hamilton; Loge, of St. Regis; and Vance, of Belgrade; say they’re being canceled for supporting policies endorsed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. All three lawmakers belonged to a minority of Senate Republicans who led an effort to, among other things, renew the state’s expanded Medicaid program and back Gianforte’s preferred approach to lowering property taxes on primary residences instead of other options supported by hardline Republicans.
At the convention, members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, a political action committee, called for the three senators to not be recognized. Caucus member Sen. Barry Usher, R-Molt, made the motion, which then-MTGOP Chair Don Kaltschmidt called out of order. Then, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, called on convention delegates to disregard the party chair’s ruling, which they did.
Ellsworth, Loge and Vance, who were invited to the convention as Republican legislators and paid for admission, were told to leave. The lawmakers’ work with the governor didn’t get a mention by either the Montana Republican Party or Freedom Caucus members during the convention.
Usher took to social media early in the 2025 legislative session to characterize the lawmakers as collaborating with minority Democrats, disparagingly labeling them the “Nasty Nine,” a reference to the three plaintiffs and six other Republican senators who frequently voted en bloc during the session. The name stuck. Capitol press lopped off the “Nasty” and published stories about “The Nine” for the next four months.
“Frankly, we’re confused as to why they’re upset. You can’t quit the team, suit up for the other side, and then sue the coach for benching you,” said Tyler Newcombe, MTGOP director, in a text. “By organizing with Democrats, The Nine removed themselves from the Republican Party. All we did was recognize what they had already made clear through their votes and their alliances.”
… And then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me because I had an active role in coming for those who came before me.
I stand by the intent of what I said, but I can’t help but read it as some strange orgy porn plot
I have a hard time feeling bad for anyone in this story, outside of the minority voters in the state.
“Frankly, we’re confused as to why they’re upset. You can’t quit the team, suit up for the other side, and then sue the coach for benching you,” said Tyler Newcombe, MTGOP director, in a text. “By organizing with Democrats, The Nine removed themselves from the Republican Party. All we did was recognize what they had already made clear through their votes and their alliances.”
when basic governance is ‘removing yourself from the party’, thanks Newt Gingrich, you obstructionist demon.
Bipartisan is a bad word now.
Delay, Deny, Defend, Obstruct
Yes because politics is sports. smh wish they had some gravitas about their personal goals of destroying people’s lives instead of treating it like a game.
Did I suddenly jump to a slightly different timeline? AP referring to hard right politicians as hard right? Republicans trying to stand up to Republicans? I’m not that familiar with MT politics. Is this par for them?
The one thing I know about Montana politics is from 2017. A tech millionaire endorsed by Trump was running for Montana’s congressional seat, when he was approached by a reporter for The Guardian, who asked about the Republican healthcare plan. Instead of answering or even just ignoring the question, the Trump-endorsed tech millionaire body-slammed the reporter to the ground, punched him multiple times, and broke his glasses. The reporter’s account of the unprovoked assault was backed up by a Fox News reporter and their crew who witnessed the entire encounter, as well as the reporter’s audio recording of the encounter. The office-seeker was convicted and sentenced to minimal community service and anger management classes.
Despite the unprovoked attack, the Trump-endorsed tech millionaire won that election, and later on went on to win another election, this time for the Montana governorship.
And that person was Greg Gianaforte, which makes me inherently suspicious of this entire article.
Oh wow. That’s wild. I don’t blame you, either.
Republicans are bad people. They value in group above all else. In group and hurting the out group.
There’s a growing split in the state between the old-school Republicans and MAGA right now. There have been a few MAGA bills aimed at lgbtq+ and environment that failed because the few old schoolers were convinced that those bills were against the state constitution, and the values like privacy and freedom that the magats claim to hold dear.
It’s honestly been really interesting to watch over the last year or two.
Oh, that’s good, thanks for telling me. Never thought I’d be rooting for Neolib conservatives, but here we are. Do you follow any specific news outlets in Montana so I can bookmark them if you do, please? Tyvmia
https://montanafreepress.org/ https://mtstandard.com/
I also enjoy erininthemorning, just note that her wife is part of Montana state legislature and she’s labeled left-biased
Thanks ever so much and that’s okay. I’m a bit left-biased myself.
Or they could just fuck off and die.
Removed by mod
Usher took to social media early in the 2025 legislative session to characterize the lawmakers as collaborating with minority Democrats, disparagingly labeling them the “Nasty Nine,”
I hope Im not the only one who immediately forgot the mention of state senator Barry Usher and was extremely confused about why Usher was commenting on Montana state politics
You’re not.
