Judges don’t run as Democrats or Republicans, but Supreme Court elections have taken a distinct partisan tone in recent years.

Given the recent election wins by abortion rights advocates after Roe v. Wade was overturned, conservatives may choose not to make abortion a campaign issue for these judicial races, according to Munis.

Focusing on abortion “would be a strategic blunder given that they have so many other things that they could talk about instead,” he said.

But the candidates who are viewed as more liberal have strongly signaled their desire to protect abortion rights.

State judges Katherine Bidegaray and Dan Wilson are running for Sandefur’s seat on the high court.

During a campaign event, Bidegaray said she would defend Montanans’ constitutional right to privacy and stand up to “unprecedented attacks” on women’s rights, the Flathead Beacon reported.

Wilson and his campaign did not respond to phone and email messages from KFF Health News.

In the race for chief justice, former federal magistrate judge Jerry Lynch, who is running against Cory Swanson, a county prosecutor backed by Republicans, has been more direct than Bidegaray.

Montanans must be “free from government interference, especially when it comes to reproductive rights,” Lynch said at a campaign event, according to the Montana Free Press.

Lynch’s candidacy has triggered some early opposition spending. Montanans for Fair Judiciary, a conservative group, sent mailers calling Lynch a “liberal trial lawyer,” the outlet reported.

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