HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A special election will be held on May 25 to fill Montana’s only U.S. House seat after Republican Ryan Zinke resigned to join President Donald Trump’s cabinet, Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Zinke as Trump’s Interior Department secretary earlier Wednesday. The Democratic governor chose the minimum amount of time when a special election could be held under state law – 85 days.
There are important discussions happening in Congress now and the state must be represented, Bullock said. Zinke has not participated in several dozen votes since he was nominated to the Cabinet post.
“Montanans haven’t really had a voice in that discussion for most of the year,” Bullock said. “So we need to get somebody in there as soon as possible.”
Seven Republican hopefuls have paid a $1,740 filing fee to the party to be considered the party’s candidate in the special election. They include Greg Gianforte, who recently lost the governor’s race to Bullock.
Eight people are seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, including former U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis.
The parties plan to hold special nominating conventions to select their candidates.
The Democrats’ convention is scheduled for Sunday in Helena, and the Republicans have not yet set a date.
Unlike a normal election in which voters get to choose the party nominees in a primary election, that decision will be made this time by about 180 Democrats and 200 Republicans who will vote in the nominating conventions.