HELENA — Gallatin County voters booted embattled state Rep. Art Wittich from office, one of several Republican conservatives who lost their bid for office in Tuesday’s primary. But some GOP moderates who sought to bring a more bipartisan tone to the state Legislature were also rejected.
In the end, it remained unclear how Tuesday’s balloting would shift the direction of the Legislature when it convenes in January.
Moderates were unable to oust most of the ideological hardliners who were seeking re-election — despite money poured into contests by outside groups supporting moderates.
The two notable exceptions were Wittich and Rep. Randy Pinocci, who lost his seat to Rep. Windy McKamey, a moderate who shifted districts.
Seven other House incumbents, nearly all members of their party’s conservative wing, advanced to the November general election.
Moderates fared better in open seats, said Dave Parker, a professor of political science at Montana State University in Bozeman. By his calculations, moderates may have gained two seats in the House — which is a victory for Democrats and Gov. Steve Bullock, he said, should he be re-elected to a second term.
“If Bullock wins,” Parker said, “he’s going to have legislators he can work with.”
Voter turnout on Tuesday was generally brisk for a primary, with more than 44 percent of registered voters casting ballots, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. That’s a marked improvement from the 37 percent four years ago.
About 80 percent of the 249,000 absentee ballots sent out were returned, accounting for about 70 percent of all votes cast — which the Secretary of State’s Office said was a record.
Groups like Montanans for Responsible Leadership and the Montana Contractors Association spent big to turn out the vote for moderates.
While conservatives will continue to steer the agenda, moderates made inroads, said Sandy Welch, the deputy treasurer for Montanans for Responsible Leadership.
Some unfamiliar names will undoubtedly join the legislative roster next year and arrive without voting records. “We think we know which way they lean, but we can’t predict how they will align,” she said.
Welch acknowledged that her group was hoping for a better result.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl was among those closely monitoring whether Wittich could fend off his two challengers. In the end, he could not do so.
“The community has now spoken twice,” Motl said Wednesday. “First it was a jury, and now his constituents have spoken.”
Wittich awaits a penalty hearing on June 17 after a jury in April found he violated state campaign finance laws when he failed to disclose $19,599 in in-kind contributions from groups affiliated with the National Right to Work Committee during his 2010 campaign.
Motl is seeking to remove Wittich from his legislative post, which ends at the end of the year. He is also seeking to bar him from again running for public office until he files campaign disclosure statements detailing the contributions that were in question.
Wittich said his loss was not completely unexpected, citing the barrage of money against him from independent groups and the corruption case against him even as he campaigned.
“With the help of Jonathan Motl, the welfare Republicans took out two conservative Republicans,” Wittich said, referring to himself and Pinocci. “They wanted to take out a lot more.”
“At the end of the day, I’m honored to have served three legislative sessions,” Wittich said. “These weren’t meant to be lifelong positions.”