Republican Incumbent Already Looking to 2027 Session in Deep Red House District 11 Race 

When Republican Ed Byrne set his sights on his first term in the Montana Legislature two years ago, the former U.S. Army colonel with longtime Flathead Valley roots walked away with a 52-percentage-point victory in the deep red House District 11 — the same victory margin as Gov. Greg Gianforte in the district.

As Byrne takes aim at a second term in Helena, a similar Election Day result feels imminent, he said.

“Last cycle, Jennifer Allen ran against me. Wonderful lady … We’d sit with each other at every event,” Byrne said. “I don’t even know this [candidate].”

“Jennifer, she worked her butt off and she knocked thousands of doors, and she can only hold 24%,” he added.

Byrne’s Democratic challenger this November, Maeve Kintzler, will readily admit she hasn’t done much campaigning. The 21-year-old who has lived in the Flathead Valley nearly her whole life is currently a student at Flathead Valley Community College and works a part-time job, meaning she hasn’t had the necessary time to dedicate to a proper campaign, she said.

Kintzler, however, still felt it important for House District 11 voters to have a choice on their ballot, noting she would be ready to serve should she be elected. 

“We live in a democracy, at least it’s supposed to be, and so giving people that option of what they either want or don’t want although they might not know me,” Kintzler said of why she entered the District 11 race. “It’s just an option other than just having to fill out one of the circles. It’s one of those things of having a choice, instead of just sticking with one person.”

With little interaction on the campaign trail between Byrne and Kintzler, Byrne has continued with a business-as-usual approach, spending most of his time preparing a slate of bills to help his constituents in the upcoming legislative session.

Following a 30-year career as a strategist with the U.S. Army, Byrne had been waiting his turn to run for office in his local legislative district, actively participating in local committees and clubs.  When Byrne’s wait in the queue expired in 2024, he campaigned on the promise to focus on tax policy and appropriations in Helena. 

Currently serving on the Joint Revenue Interim Committee, Byrne has done just that and is looking to maintain the same focus during the 2027 legislative session. For Byrne, delivering real property tax relief — especially for the Flathead Valley, which he said was hit the hardest by the 2025 Legislature’s property tax reform measures — can’t be done without adjusting both taxes and the budget in tandem.

“Without touching the budget, it’s like squeezing a balloon,” Byrne said. “It has to go somewhere.”

One legislative priority Byrne said he’ll push in 2027 is a constitutional initiative that would split the current 90-day legislative session into a 50-day session dedicated to the budget and taxes every odd year, and a 40-day session every even year for policy. Legislators would keep standing committee appointments year-round, meaning there would be no interim committees, and during odd years, all 150 legislative members would be involved in the budget process through appropriations and/or tax committees. 

“We get the budget in mid-November, and the cake is baked,” Byrne said. “The frosting’s on it; about two-thirds of the whipped cream. We get a little bit of whipped cream and the cherry. That’s all we can affect the budget.”

“By doing a 21-month budget, you can do zero-based budgeting through the Legislature,” he added. “We can do performance-based budgeting. We can do core function budgeting. In other words, going through each agency and seeing what their core functions are by the Constitution, Montana Constitution, and Montana Code Annotated. If they’re doing things outside of it, why are you doing that? Let’s divest it for someone else that’s probably supposed to be doing it.”

Another policy push for Byrne come January is getting more state revenue back to its county of origin, he said.

“Every dollar you can return to the county of origin lowers property taxes,” Byrne said. “That’s the only way to do it without making other people pay.”

In one bill being crafted for the 2027 session, Byrne proposes moving 100% of the consumption “sin” taxes the state collects, which he said include liquor, wine, gaming and marijuana, to education through the state equalization funds. Byrne is also planning on proposing a bill similar to last session’s Senate Bill 90, which would have taken a portion of the bed tax and rental car tax, and returned it to the county of origin for property tax relief. His bill, however, will propose returning 100% of the two taxes back to the county of origin. 

“This year, I’ve got a bill to go out for 100% of it,” Byrne said. “Bill 90 on steroids. That alone would take care of the 29% of your property tax that goes to the county.”

Although Kintzler hasn’t hit the campaign trail this election cycle, that doesn’t mean she’s without legislative priorities. 

Kintzler said the economy, housing and transportation are all issues top of mind for her. Disability rights and accessibility, however, are issues close to her heart and at the top of her priority list. 

“I am a disability rights advocate,” Kintzler said. “I have disabilities myself and something that I really want to advocate for is the protection and the strengthening of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; keeping human rights within the sector of our constitution and our laws.”

It’s this passion for disability rights advocacy, as well as for helping others, that Kintzler said would be front-and-center should she be elected by her District 11 constituents. 

“I am very passionate,” Kintzler said. “I will not choose to sit in silence for people, that is not the point of public service. If I’m going to be a public servant, if people are willing to elect me and choose me as a public servant, I want to listen to their needs and I want to give them the opportunity to have an advocate that’s willing to change things for them.”

Kintzler said she can be “fresh eyes” for District 11 in the Legislature, offering a diverse perspective as a young woman with multiple disabilities. She said her passion, public speaking skills and willingness to learn will serve her well in Helena. 

“I listen to what people need,” Kintzler said. “I’m a good listener and I’m also a very strong empath. When I see that someone is hurting or that someone needs help, I am very strong about needing to help them.”

Although an “uphill battle” to emerge victorious on Nov. 3, Kintzler said the overwhelming need for voters to have a choice outweighed the challenging task at hand. 

“I selected the party that stands with most of my beliefs and who I am and what I stand for,” Kintzler said. “If people like that, and if people want a representative that has those kinds of ideas and ideals, then I’m a choice. I put my name on that ballot because I want them to have a choice.”

Ballots were mailed to absentee voters Oct. 9. Election Day is Nov. 3. Voters can check their registration status and the status of their ballot here: https://voterportal.mt.gov/WhereToVote.aspx. 

To register to vote, voters can either bring their completed voter registration application to their county election office or visit their county elections office to fill out a voter registration application and receive a ballot there.

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