The Montana Republican Party Executive Board passed a resolution on April 1 rebuking 17 Republican legislative candidates and three elected party officers for working with progressive political groups connected to out-of-state billionaire donors.
The resolution addresses concerns within the party about outside influence in Montana politics and calls into question the alignment of certain candidates and officers with core Republican principles.
According to the press release, publicly available records show that these progressive donors are advancing their agenda through a network of political action committees and nonprofits, including Helena-based Fireweed Campaigns Inc. The release states that Fireweed began billing 11 Republican primary candidates for campaign management services in January 2026. In addition, Fireweed staff reportedly made maximum contributions to these candidates as well as six others.
The press release also notes that Conservatives4MT, described as a group sharing leadership with several progressive organizations, is backing the same set of candidates supported by Fireweed. Three county-level party officers are identified as being involved with this PAC infrastructure.
The resolution specifically calls on the named candidates to return any funds received from Fireweed or related organizations. It also urges the implicated officers to resign from their roles in the PAC network and disavow connections to progressive groups. The Executive Board said it may consider further actions if coordination continues.
“Montana Republican voters need to be confident that the candidates and officers they vote for are actually working in their best interest and promoting Republican policies and principles, not doing the bidding of out-of-state progressive billionaires,” MTGOP Chairman Art Wittich said.
A full copy of the resolution is available at https://mtgop.org/2026-resolutions/.
