(Helena, MT) — Three Republican state senators are taking their own party to court. Jason Ellsworth, Denley Loge, and Shelley Vance filed a lawsuit against the Montana Republican Party this week in Lewis and Clark County. The trio claim their rights were violated, along with party rules, when they were excluded from the GOP convention in June. That includes voting for the new chair of the state party. They were part of a group known as “The Nine,” who took heat from the party for siding with Democrats on several procedural votes during the legislative session. The group asked the court to order a new election they can take part in.
