---
title: "Lake County candidates, 2026"
description: "Candidates who list Lake County as their residence in the 2026 Montana election cycle."
type: "county"
election_year: 2026
county: "Lake"
candidate_count: 34
note: "county is the candidate residence, not the race jurisdiction"
data_through: "2026-09-26"
generated_at: "2026-09-26"
source: "Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (CERS)"
---


# Lake County candidates, 2026

34 candidacies in the 2026 Montana election cycle list Lake County as the candidate's residence.

## Candidates who live in Lake County (2026)

| Candidate | Office sought | Party | Own document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alisa Kennedy | School Trustee | Republican | Not yet |
| [Bob Cornwell](/people/bob-cornwell-g253322/) | School Trustee | Non-Partisan | Yes |
| Chanel Lake | School Trustee | Not recorded | Not yet |
| [Carli Hughbanks](/people/carli-hughbanks-g304192/) | School Trustee | Non-Partisan | Yes |
| Carol Field | Trustee | Not recorded | Not yet |
| Carolyn Hall | County Superintendent of Schools | Republican | Not yet |
| Charles Headley | House District No. 91 | Republican | Not yet |
| [Christopher Buckles](/people/christopher-buckles-g270510/) | Senate District No. 08 | Republican | Yes |
| Cindy Bruckner | House District No. 12 | Democratic | Not yet |
| [Dakota DesJarlais](/people/dakota-desjarlais-g287637/) | School Trustee | Non-Partisan | Yes |
| [Dalton Bradford](/people/dalton-bradford-g253162/) | House District No. 13 | Democratic | Yes |
| Don Bell | County Coroner/Sheriff | Republican | Not yet |
| [Finley Warden](/people/finley-warden-g251345/) | House District No. 13 | Republican | Yes |
| JAMES LAPOTKA | County Attorney | Republican | Not yet |
| [Jamie Baldwin](/people/jamie-baldwin-g322725/) | School Trustee | Democratic | Yes |
| Jesse Hernandez | County Commissioner | Republican | Not yet |
| [Joanna Browning](/people/joanna-browning-g240129/) | School Trustee | Not recorded | Yes |
| [John Mercer](/people/john-mercer-g253720/) | District Judge, District 20 Dept. 02 | Non-Partisan | Yes |
| [Kendra Steele](/people/kendra-steele-g251342/) | County Clerk & Recorder/Surveyor | Republican | Yes |
| [Levi Read](/people/levi-read-g253173/) | School Trustee | Republican | Yes |
| Linda Reksten | House District No. 13 | Republican | Not yet |
| [Lloyd Irvine](/people/lloyd-irvine-g305066/) | School Trustee | Independent | Yes |
| Mark Noland | Senate District No. 06 | Republican | Not yet |
| [Mary Lustig](/people/mary-lustig-g297404/) | School Trustee | Not recorded | Yes |
| [Molly Owen](/people/molly-owen-g244503/) | District Judge, District 20 Dept. 01 | Non-Partisan | Yes |
| Ralph Foster | House District No. 15 | Republican | Not yet |
| [Rebecca Maso](/people/rebecca-maso-g295856/) | County Assessor/Treasurer | Republican | Yes |
| [Santos Perez](/people/santos-perez-g308123/) | School Trustee | Democratic | Yes |
| Shelly Fyant | House District No. 91 | Democratic | Not yet |
| Tracy Sharp | House District No. 12 | Republican | Not yet |
| [William Barron](/people/william-barron-g233056/) | County Commissioner | Republican | Yes |
| William Mitalski | County Commissioner | Republican | Not yet |
| Rick Schoening | Justice of the Peace | Non-Partisan | Not yet |

A candidate marked "Not yet" has no document of their own in this corpus. The records filed under their name are not yet confirmed as one complete profile. A page built from part of the records would understate the career and the money, so none is published until the profile is complete. The absence of a page is not a finding that the candidate raised or spent nothing.

## Races held in Lake County (2026)

These county, school and city offices are elected within Lake County:

- County Assessor/Treasurer
- County Attorney
- County Clerk & Recorder/Surveyor
- County Commissioner
- County Coroner/Sheriff
- County Superintendent of Schools
- Justice of the Peace
- School Trustee
- Trustee

**This list is incomplete, and the gap is in the source record.** The county above is the county each candidate LIVES in. A legislative district is not a county and does not sit inside one, and CERS holds no mapping from a district to the counties it covers. So this record cannot list the legislative races that Lake County votes in. Do not read the residence list above as the answer to that question.