I-194 Won't Stop The Political Ads

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State Senator Greg Hertz Tuesday, October 6th, 2026   9:44am  

Montanans are being bombarded with television and other political ads in this year’s congressional races. Voters should understand an important limitation of ballot initiative I-194: it would not stop much of the political spending we are seeing today.

I-194 restricts political spending by certain “artificial persons,” including corporations, nonprofits, partnerships and trade associations. But the initiative expressly exempts political committees, and its restrictions are aimed at state and local political activity—not the federal campaign system.

That means the federal PACs and political party committees financing congressional advertising can continue operating under federal election law. The ads attacking or supporting candidates for Montana’s U.S. Senate and House seats will not disappear if I-194 passes. During the 2024 Montana US Senate race total spending was approximately $260 million. If I-194 was in place during 2024, the spending in the U.S. Senate race would not have changed at all. 

Montanans deserve to know exactly what an initiative does—and what it does not do—before they vote. I-194, if it does anything at all, will put restrictions on local Montana groups but leave the big out-of-state political money untouched, reducing local voices even more.

Senator Greg Hertz
Polson, MT