HELENA — There’s only one seat on the Montana Supreme Court up for election this year. Two candidates, Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson, are running to succeed retiring Associate Justice Beth Baker. Both of them have the same current job: state district judges for the 11th Judicial District, which covers Flathead County. Now, both are trying to convince voters they have the right experience and judicial philosophy to serve on the higher court.
Eddy and Wilson were the only two candidates in the June primary, so both automatically advanced to the general election. Out of more than 270,000 votes cast in the primary, Eddy finished ahead by less than 8,000 votes.
(Watch the video to hear more from the Supreme Court candidates.)
Eddy was appointed as a district judge in 2015, and she’s been reelected three times since. She says, in talking to voters, she’s highlighting her experience handling complex civil litigation. For example, in 2017, she was selected as the first judge for Montana’s Asbestos Claims Court, which oversaw hundreds of cases in the aftermath of W.R. Grace’s bankruptcy.
Eddy says she’s been involved with 10,000 cases over her career.
“I think the body of the work as a whole – in addition to my work on the Asbestos Claims Court, getting that established – and on other boards and commissions really demonstrates my commitment to the judiciary, my work ethic and how I performed on the bench, now after almost 11 years at this point in time,” she said.
Wilson was elected to the bench in 2016, after having worked in private practice and serving as a justice of the peace. He previously ran for a Supreme Court associate justice position in 2024, finishing about 40,000 votes behind Katherine Bidegaray.
Wilson says, in this campaign, he’s focused on sharing his judicial philosophy and approach with voters. He considers himself a “constitutional conservative” and believes some courts have become too “activist,” particularly in how they interpret the Montana Constitution.
“A judge's job is to discern the will of the people and not to insert his or her own views,” he said. “That, in my view and experience, is judicial activism, and I don't believe that the Constitution or the drafters contemplated it – or frankly, that it allows for it.”
While Montana Supreme Court elections have been officially nonpartisan for 90 years, they have taken on increasingly political tones in recent years, with conservative-leaning groups and liberal-leaning groups often backing opposing candidates.
This year’s election is the first since the Legislature passed House Bill 39, which repealed a state law that prohibited political parties from making contributions to judicial candidates. Wilson has received $20,000 from the Montana Republican Party, and thousands more from several county GOP central committees. He has also been a speaker at state and county Republican Party events.
Eddy has received endorsements from groups like Montana Conservation Voters, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, Montana AFL-CIO and Big Sky 55+. However, she has said she won’t accept donations from specifically partisan groups or speak at their events – and she describes that as one of the main differences between her and Wilson.
“While those things are lawful, they're not judicial,” she said. “They undermine the whole point of nonpartisan judicial elections, and they undermine the public's trust that the branch can actually be impartial – and, of course, I have an ethical obligation to uphold that impartiality and the public's trust at the same time.”
Wilson said the state’s Code of Judicial Ethics doesn’t prohibit judicial candidates from attending political party events. He said receiving support from a party doesn’t mean he can’t be impartial if elected.
“I've never had anyone from any party or at any gathering, public or private, ask me to pledge allegiance to a certain political platform,” he said. “I've not read the Republican platform. I have been upfront with all of my supporters that I am a strict constructionist. I will follow the Constitution no matter what it says, because it reflects the will of the people.”
Montana voters are considering a ballot measure, Constitutional Initiative 132, that would amend the state constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan. Wilson told MTN he didn’t think it would be appropriate for a judge to take a position on that proposal.
“Judges should not be able to say how they are elected or appointed,” he said. “I think also judges should not get to choose which cases they're assigned, and they should not be able to set their rate of pay. That’s all for someone else to decide, at the behest of the people.”
Wilson has said he chose not to seek endorsements from lawyers because he believed that could create its own impression of potential bias. Eddy, on the other hand, has made her support from attorneys – and from current and former Supreme Court justices and district judges – a major point in her campaign.
“It demonstrates confidence that, regardless of whoever is supporting your campaign, you will give everyone a fair hearing when they come to court, that you will listen to the evidence in each case, that you'll apply the law and give the fairest result that you can,” she said.
Whichever of these candidates wins, it will leave one vacancy on the bench in the 11th Judicial District. Gov. Greg Gianforte will appoint a replacement judge. He’s currently accepting public comment on the only applicant for the position: current Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner.
