Montana Supreme Court ruling on Green Party candidate could spell trouble for Jon Tester, polling reveals

A new Montana ruling on a third party’s ballot presence could have negative implications for Sen. Jon Tester’s re-election efforts as he clinches on to the Democrat’s Senate majority, recent polling suggests. 

In August, the Montana Democratic Party sued Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the state of Montana in an effort to prevent Green Party Senate candidate Robert Barb from appearing on the November ballot.

Democrats claimed in their lawsuit that Barb’s nomination was not valid, after the third-party candidate was named the Green Party’s nominee to replace their original leading candidate who dropped out of the race in August despite winning the primary.

A district court rejected the request to deny the Green Party candidate ballot access in early September, but the Montana Democratic Party submitted a writ of supervisory control to the state’s Supreme Court against the lower court ruling. Ultimately, the Montana Supreme Court ruled to uphold the lower court’s decision on Tuesday, solidifying Barb’s name on the 2024 ballot.

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., arrives for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the “Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the National Guard and Reserves,”

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