Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus issued a decision finding campaign finance violations by three political committees — Big Sky Fiscal Guardians, Treasure State Stewards and Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections — ordering two to reclassify and referring the third to the county attorney for potential prosecution.
The decision, dated July 8, stems from a complaint filed April 22 by Eric Early of Stevensville, who alleged the three committees, characterized by Montana Republicans as left-wing dark money groups, had improperly registered as incidental political committees in order to benefit from lighter reporting requirements, shielding the source of their funds while making expenditures to influence Montana elections.
Gallus found that Big Sky Fiscal Guardians and Treasure State Stewards had each filed as incidental committees — a classification intended for organizations whose election-related activity is secondary to a broader non-election purpose — when the evidence showed their primary purpose was supporting specific candidates in Montana’s June 2, 2026, primary election. Both committees reported significant election expenditures: Big Sky Fiscal Guardians disclosed $45,679 in independent expenditures, including $22,000 to Conservatives4MT, a registered independent political committee that spent more than $2 million in Republican legislative primary races. Treasure State Stewards disclosed $52,426 in independent expenditures, including $34,000 to Conservatives4MT.
The decision ordered both committees to reclassify as independent political committees and file complete finance reports within 10 days, or face referral to Lewis and Clark County District Court. The committees may alternatively supply additional information and request reconsideration of their classification.
The third committee, Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections, was found to have made a $38,000 expenditure to Conservatives4MT on March 9, 2026, which triggered its obligation under state law to register as a political committee within five days. The committee never registered and never filed required finance reports. Gallus said the committee “entirely failed to register as a political committee even after receipt of this complaint, a clear violation of Montana election law and a disservice to Montana voters,” and referred the matter to the Lewis and Clark County Attorney for prosecution.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich called the decision “a major win for transparency and election integrity in Montana,” saying he hoped it would discourage what he described as dishonest campaign tactics and the funneling of out-of-state liberal dark money into Republican legislative primaries.