Last year, Piper Fund became aware there would be legislative threats to judicial integrity in Montana. To proactively prepare for these threats, we made early investments to multiple groups in Montana including Forward Montana, Montana Voices, League of Women Voters Montana, and Northern Plains Resource Council.

During the 2025 session, over 40 bills were introduced in the Montana legislature that would harm separation of powers and judicial integrity, the majority of them originating from a select committee formed in the state senate. Five of those bills were aimed at making judicial elections partisan.

The partner organizations met early and often to coordinate on which bills they would prioritize and the strategies they would use – each playing to their strengths and leveraging their community connections.

“We kept a really disciplined and narrow focus on what we were going to work on, and then we prepared talking points and testimony for our members across the state,” said Kris Glenn, a founding member of Northern Plains’ democracy project.

Northern Plains also sent out action alerts and operated a phone bank, targeting key districts where legislators seemed moveable on the bills. They released a statewide video ad promoting fair and unbiased courts and helped to lead a lobbying day at the state capitol. Meanwhile, Forward Montana used its newsletter and podcast to mobilize young Montanans and organized public comment trainings for them.

Polling data was also a vital tool for this effort. Over two-thirds of the people polled said they do not want a partisan judiciary, valuable information for partners closer to the “action” in the capitol to be able to share with legislators.

Ultimately, the collaborating organizations were able to push back against and stop nearly all of the harmful bills from becoming law. Hear more from Zuri Moreno, the state legislative director for Forward Montana, about how this impressive partnership worked.