We’re just a few days from Montana’s deadline to file for office (March 10 at 5:00 p.m.) and this is when it gets exciting for political observers. According to the Montana Secretary of State’s office, March 10 is officially the “last day for candidates to file declarations for Primary Election.”

There are a bunch of questions yet to be answered, such as:

How many contested primaries will there be?

Will the so-called “responsible Republicans” all get primary opponents?

Will some well-known people file for office and surprise people?

Will any current office holders decide it’s not worth serving and not file?

Who will withdraw?

Will the Republicans and Democrats be able to find candidates to run for all the seats?

I did a quick check this morning (before coffee) and so far it looks like there are about nine contested primaries for state senate and about 19 for state house races. There are also four Libertarian candidates. Eight candidates have already withdrawn.

There are four Republicans who have filed for U.S. House (Corey Stapleton, Matt Rosendale, Elsie Arntzen, and Ryan Zinke). No Democrats have filed for U.S. House yet.

Steve Daines (R) and Dirk S. Adams (D) are, so far, the only candidates to file for U.S. Senate.

Some candidates may wait until the afternoon of March 10 to file – just to surprise people – and that is what will make Monday a very interesting day.

Plus, just about the time we were getting comfortable with the legislative seats, who held them, and where the districts were located, we had redistricting due to the 2010 census! Here’s the new map. Enjoy!

June 3 is Montana’s primary election day, which means it’s about an 85 day sprint to the finish line, with candidates hoping they’ll get to play on until the General Election on November 4.

By the way, I happened to see that the Montana Republicans are out and about. Their “Engagement Training” which at first I thought was for people planning on getting married, but is really for training candidates, is being held in Billings this Friday. I’m sure the Democrats will be out and about doing the same in the near future.

Thanks to all the candidates who have decided to run for elective office in 2014. Good luck!

Note: Here at The Western Word we love to hear from candidates no matter the political party! So, if you are a candidate, follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord and I will follow you back. Also, please add the official e-mail of The Western Word to your press list: western_word@yahoo.com. Thanks!

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