A restraining order has been issued that blocks the Montana Republican Party from enacting new bylaws intended to drive nonconformists out of the party ranks.
Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael F. McMahon issued the restraining order Wednesday morning. The order had been requested by county precinct committees and officers suing the state party organization over the new bylaws. The plaintiffs are the Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee, the Choteau County Republican Central Committee, and individual committee members Jeff Essmann, Ted Kronebusch, James Wilson and state .
At issue are during MTGOP鈥檚 June platform convention that the litigating party members say amount to 鈥渇raudulent and corrupt practices.鈥� The new bylaws require members to pay $20 in annual membership dues and pledge a loyalty oath, and subject members to removal from elected party positions for nonpayment of dues or for 鈥渃onduct deemed inconsistent with party purposes,鈥� as determined by executive party party officers. The new bylaws allow charges for removal to be brought by any 20 official Republican Party members.
Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich, the only official spokesperson for the state party, has not responded to voicemails and texts sent to his cell phone Wednesday. Wittich, elected party chairman in June 2025, has long been emphatic about exposing 鈥� for Wittich that spun into a bitter between party hardliners and relative centrists in this spring鈥檚 .
The centrists drew the ire of the hardliners in 2025 by collaborating with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and legislative Democrats to pass a and key pieces of legislation, including increased and small businesses.
What constitutes disqualifying conduct isn鈥檛 fully spelled out in the bylaws, but they do specify that 鈥渃ollaborating with Democrats鈥� in the Legislature, the governor鈥檚 office, the courts, or elections can get members disciplined or removed.
The lawsuit alleges that 鈥淭he 2026 bylaws empower a small group within the party to revoke Republican affiliation from candidates or office holders, undoing primary nominations by the electorate.鈥�
The plaintiffs argue that Montana voters, not party bylaws, should determine who represents the Republican Party in general elections and who represents voting precincts on the publicly elected county-level Republican committees that coordinate local political activity.
The Montana Legislature in 2019 passed a bill from being arbitrarily removed from office and defined attempts to do so as 鈥渇raudulent and corrupt practices.鈥� That law, sparked by Republican Party infighting 10 years ago, is the foundation of the current lawsuit.
There has been in Republican precinct-level politics following a perceived lack of support by party hardliners for Republican candidates in conservative strongholds like Flathead County, where more than 60 new precinct committeemen and committeewomen were elected in June. That wave of new officers was preceded by Flathead County Republican Central Committee members for Kalispell mayor over Republican Kisa Davison in late 2025. The Kalispell mayor鈥檚 race is nonpartisan, but Republicans have gone to court to secure the party鈥檚 .
Wittich鈥檚 own campaign for precinct committeeman representing Whitefish was a casualty of that new wave of public interest. He , who serves on the Whitefish City Council.
Caltabiano鈥檚 wife, Roxanne Ross, defeated Candace Wittich, wife of the Republican chair, in the same election.
State law gives precinct officers two-year terms and specifies that they can be removed only for death, written resignation or loss of residency. The new bylaws state that participation in party governance, including service as a precinct official, 鈥渋s a privilege of association, not a right conferred by public office or candidacy. Members must act in good faith to support the Party鈥檚 purpose and must not engage in conduct materially inconsistent with the Party鈥檚 interests, including conduct that undermines its platform, policy positions, election operations, or internal governance.鈥�
The recent changes to the party bylaws allow precinct officeholders to be suspended from voting in party matters and replaced by party leadership for noncompliance. Empty precinct seats can be filled by the Republican Party chair.
鈥淓very Republican candidate sells their version of Republicanism to the people in a primary campaign, and the voter chooses which version to buy,鈥� the lawsuit states. 鈥淭he party cannot dictate what brands of Republicanism are on the market.鈥�
Former MTGOP chair Jeff Essmann, a plaintiff who is also a long-serving precinct officer, said in his affidavit that members of the Republican State Central Committee weren鈥檛 given a required notification about attempts to amend the bylaws. He said he would have attended the platform convention and argued against amending the bylaws if he had known.
鈥淭he 2026 Bylaws empower any twenty members of the Party to recommend any other member of the Party for expulsion from the party, to be determined by the State Central Committee, even people who do not reside in Yellowstone County and who have never met me,鈥� Essmann said in the affidavit.
Other central committee members produced pre-convention emails about potential changes to the bylaws, but no details about the amendments.
In issuing the order, McMahon indicated that Republicans challenging the bylaws are likely to succeed. He set a July 13 hearing on whether to make the order permanent.
鈥淧laintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with Montana election law and constitutional protections governing candidacy, nomination, speech, association, due process, and elected precinct committee representatives,鈥� McMahon ruled.
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