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Missoula County, MT ballot

Annie Bukacek

Republicanincumbent

Public Service Commissioner, District 5 · Missoula County, Montana · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Kevin Hamm (Democrat)

Annie Bukacek, a Kalispell physician, is the incumbent Public Service Commissioner for District 5, first elected in 2022. She says the commission's job is to balance affordability and reliability; in the NorthWestern Energy gas-plant rate case she abstained on the main votes and unsuccessfully moved to let the utility recover $16 million more. Her 2026 fundraising totals could not be read.

What this office decides

The Montana Public Service Commission sets the rates and service rules for investor-owned utilities, including NorthWestern Energy's electricity and natural gas, and regulates some water and transportation services. Its five commissioners, elected by district to four-year terms in partisan races, decide how much customers pay for new power plants and transmission lines. Only part of Missoula County is in District 5.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: nothing found. No Trump endorsement or criticism found in searches or on her campaign's endorsement page.

  • Montanans for Limited Government (for) source
  • Flathead County Republican Central Committee (for) source
  • Lake County Republican Central Committee (for) source

Who they are

Annie Bukacek, a Kalispell physician, is the incumbent District 5 commissioner, elected in 2022 (KTVH; MTPR), and formerly served on the Flathead City-County Board of Health (Flathead Beacon). District 5 now includes parts of Toole, Pondera, Glacier, Flathead, Lake, Missoula, Granite, Powell, Teton, Lewis and Clark and Cascade counties (Flathead Beacon), built from state House districts under a 2023 law (MCA 69-1-104).

Positions

  • Energy & environment: "It is the PSC's job to balance affordability and reliability" (Flathead Beacon); she "will vote to provide the most economical and reliable power" (campaign).
  • Business & regulation: Wants large-load tariffs scrutinized so households and small businesses are not "saddled with any of the data center's share"; says the PSC "could use additional funding" for forensic examiners (MTFP guide). Says the Black Hills merger "deserves scrutiny" (MTFP).

Record

  • 2025-10-29: Voted with the 3-2 majority electing Jeff Welborn PSC president (MTFP).
  • 2025-11-18: Abstained on main votes on NorthWestern's Yellowstone County gas plant; her motion to allow $16 million more failed 3-2. She called disallowing about 20% of the cost "unconscionable" (KTVH; MTFP).
  • 2026-03-31: Joined a 3-2 majority declining to compel more NorthWestern data-center information in the merger case (Daily Montanan).

Money

No 2026 totals could be read from the state system (COPP; MTFP guide). In 2022 she lent her campaign $10,000 through her medical practice (MTPR).

Recent news

  • 2026-01-13: Final rate order listed her as "abstaining in part"; she had called the combined vote "an inaccurate representation" (Daily Montanan).
  • 2026-06-02: Won the GOP primary with 35.5% over Joe Dooling and David Sanders (MTFP guide).

What we couldn't find

  • 2026 fundraising totals.
  • Views on Colstrip, coal or renewables.
  • An official PSC map; psc.mt.gov returned errors.
Sources (17)