Democratic candidates Debo Powers, House District 3, and Paula Koch, House District 4, secured comfortable victories on Election Day — marking the first time both districts will send Democrats to Helena in the ruby-red Flathead Valley following redistricting in 2024.

On the same day that voters approved a ballot initiative that disallows corporate spending in Montana elections, several groups — including the Montana Republican State Central Committee — filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the measure. The lawsuit was filed at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, 18 minutes before AP called the race.

Initiative 194, dubbed The Montana Plan, changes state code to prohibit any incorporated entity in Montana from spending money to influence state, local and federal elections. Voters on Tuesday approved the measure 65% to 34%, with 97% of the vote counted as of Nov. 5, according to the Associated Press. Without court intervention, the law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The ballot measure received high-profile support — former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Butte to bolster the initiative — and vocal opposition, mostly in the form of op-eds from groups claiming the measure would prevent local businesses from participating in the political process. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges the initiative violates First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press.