Wilson Announces Bid For Supreme Court Seat
Flathead District Court Judge Dan Wilson, announced Wednesday, April 9, that he will again enter a race for the Montana Supreme Court, after losing his 2024 election for a seat on the state’s highest court.
Wilson ran for the Supreme Court last fall against now-Justice Judge Katherine Bidegaray, who replaced Dirk Sandefur on the bench. Wilson garnered 254,294 votes in the statewide race, but lost the election by about eight percentage points.
Now, Wilson will be seeking the seat currently held by Justice Beth Baker, who will not seek reelection. Wilson is the first candidate to announce for the Supreme Court race nearly 18 months ahead of the election.
“As a native Montanan and a conservative, I firmly believe Supreme Court Justices must apply the law and the constitution as written to all their rulings. As your next Montana Supreme Court Justice, I pledge to follow that guiding conservative principle. I will not be beholden to any special interest group’s agenda, and recognize that the court’s role is to interpret the law as written – not create it,” Wilson said in a written statement.
Baker was elected to the Supreme Court in 2010, and won reelection to her seat in 2018. She confirmed to the Daily Montanan that she will not seek a third eight-year term.
“I think it’ll be time for some new energy,” Baker said. “I’ve still got almost two full years left, and I want to be able to give my full effort for the rest of my term. It is a tremendous honor to serve the Montana justice system.”
Wilson worked as a prosecutor in Great Falls after graduating from law school in Minnesota and has served as a district court judge in Flathead County since 2017.
His campaign announcement highlighted a 2020 ruling he made striking down then-Gov. Steve Bullock’s mask mandate made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2026 election cycle will be the first following the Legislature’s passage of House Bill 39, which allows political parties to donate to judicial candidates.
During his 2024 campaign, Wilson was “strongly recommended” by the Flathead County Republican Central Committee, and received campaign contributions from the Stillwater Republican Central Committee, according to campaign finance reports.
He was also endorsed by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed current Chief Justice Cory Swanson’s campaign. Swanson won his race by roughly eight percentage points.
The American Civil Liberties Union spent $1.3 million against Wilson and Swanson during the last election cycle.
