Montana's top court, a bulwark against GOP abuses, could become a conservative bastion next year

The Montana Supreme Court has been the state's last remaining bulwark against the GOP's assault on democracy and abortion rights since Republicans won complete control of state government in 2020, but that could all change next year. Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Associate Justice Dirk Sandefur, who are both aligned with the court's liberal wing, are retiring, and their replacements could determine whether the court remains an independent check on GOP abuses or simply becomes a rubber stamp.

Justices are elected for eight-year terms in officially nonpartisan elections, and currently, the court does not have a strong ideological lean. The Missoula Current previously described its membership as including three liberals, two conservatives, and two swing justices. However, if conservatives were to replace both McGrath and Sandefur, that would give the right-wing bloc four votes and, with that, a majority.

In recent years, the two swing justices have sided with their liberal colleagues in several consequential rulings. Most prominently, in a 5-2 decision last year, the court blocked Republican lawmakers from proceeding with a ballot measure that would have let them gerrymander the court itself. Nonetheless, Republicans have been able to enact other efforts to bend the courts to their will, such as the elimination of the state's judicial nominating commission. As a result, GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte now has free rein to fill vacancies arising midterm.