Senator Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, watches a vote during the Senate Floor Session on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. (Nathaniel Bailey for the Daily Montanan)

Three Montana Republican lawmakers have sued the state GOP, alleging their rights as voting members of the party were wrongly terminated and asking for the party to be forced to re-elect its officers.

The lawsuit, filed by Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton, Denley Loge of St. Regis and Shelley Vance of Belgrade, as “MT Republicans,” is the latest escalation of an ongoing fight between a group of nine Republican state senators and the majority of the party that saw the Republican lawmakers work with Democrats to pass major bills, including the state’s budget.

The party “divested MT Republicans from their vested voting rights in MT GOP in

See Full Page