Windy Boy Restarts Campaign for Montana’s Eastern U.S. House Seat

Montana state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy has “unsuspended” his Democratic primary campaign for U.S. House representing Montana’s Eastern Congressional District, three weeks after suspending his bid amid sexual abuse allegations. 

In a Wednesday afternoon text message sent to Montana Free Press reporters, Windy Boy shared a link to his campaign website. As of early afternoon, the website said “Campaign Unsuspended for Montana’s 2nd Congressional District 2026,” followed by a larger headline: “Jonathan Windy Boy is Moving Forward.” 

Windy Boy did not respond to additional requests for comment from MTFP about the decision to restart his campaign.

In April, Montana Democratic Party Chair Shannon O’Brien announced that Windy Boy had notified her “that he will be dropping out of the race for the 2nd Congressional District.” The party’s statement came after Windy Boy’s Democratic primary competitor Brian Miller surfaced allegations by a Pennsylvania woman that Windy Boy had sent sexually explicit photos and messages to underage girls in 2002. 

In his May 6 press release, Windy Boy called the allegations “a political ambush.” The statement further condemned the allegations against him, saying the matters “were previously investigated, referred to law enforcement, and that the matter was vacated over 20 years ago.”

“This is an old smear campaign that has turned into a political hit,” he said in the release. “These allegations are being repackaged and pushed publicly for political purposes. I am being politically prosecuted by the Democratic Leadership due to the political attack by my Congressional opponent Brian J. Miller, who is vexatiously smearing my name. The bottom line here is I have not been afforded my constitutional rights to due process, while those rights have been grossly violated I am innocent until proven guilty.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Montana Secretary of State’s website list of 2026 candidates showed that Windy Boy’s name had not been struck from the U.S. House race.

Lance FourStar, who worked as a campaign consultant for Windy Boy in April, told MTFP on Wednesday that, because of the allegations, he will no longer be involved in the campaign.

“It’s not my baggage to carry,” FourStar said.

FourStar, who is running for the state House of Representatives within Windy Boy’s Senate district, also said he does not support Windy Boy’s bid for office.

“It all comes down to what I stand for as an advocate for victims for the missing and murdered Indigenous peoples movement and the fact that I’m grandfather,” FourStar said.

Windy Boy’s announcement about rejoining the race comes two days after legislative leaders from both sides of the aisle removed him from his interim committee and commission assignments. Interim committees and commissions meet between Montana’s biennial legislative sessions to discuss issues and draft policy. Windy Boy’s removal from two interim committees and one commission came at the request of Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, according to a joint press release from Republican and Democratic Senate staff.

In his news release, Windy Boy encouraged the Legislature “to cease and desist any and all formal actions against him.”

“My enemies are making a lot of noise but just as before there have been no charges, no adjudication, this is all dirty politics, based upon rumors and slanderous allegations to influence election outcomes just weeks before voting begins,” he said in the statement.

In the news release, Windy Boy also criticized Miller for his efforts in 2014 to remove a judge from adjudicating a case, for which he received admonishment from the Montana Supreme Court’s Commission on Practice. 

Miller dismissed Windy Boy’s attack in a Wednesday phone interview, calling his own actions “an error in judgment” and saying that he had learned from his mistake. 

“I crossed the line and I got a verbal admonishment,” Miller said, noting that his license was not suspended. 

Miller said he was not surprised to see Windy Boy rejoin the race and strike an unapologetic posture.

“I was kind of thinking he would try something like this, to be honest,” Miller said.

Windy Boy rejoins Miller, a Helena attorney, and Sam Lux, a Great Falls farrier, in the race to challenge incumbent Republican Troy Downing in the general election. Libertarian Patrick McCracken and possibly independent Mike Eisenhauer are also looking to defeat Downing in November. The incumbent won the seat by a 32-point margin in 2024, and political prognosticators give his opponents little chance of success.

In a Wednesday statement shared with reporters and posted on TikTok, Lux said he would “not stand for this man being in our race,” citing the allegations against him.

“He needs to end his campaign, resign from office, and take accountability for his actions,” Lux wrote.

This story originally appeared in the Montana Free Press, which can be found online at montanafreepress.org.