Davison campaign disputes legal opinion | Billings Gazette

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Davison campaign disputes legal opinion

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA - If a governor and lieutenant governor team wins a primary election and one of them is found by a judge ineligible to serve, the other member also potentially could be found ineligible to run in the November general election.

That's a conclusion of an opinion issued Wednesday by the Legislature's chief lawyer, Greg Petesch. His opinion mentions no specific names or political parties or situations.

However, Petesch's opinion covers possible legal situations created by the controversy involving one of the four teams seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Not mentioned by name in the decision but clearly front and center is what happens if gubernatorial candidate Pat Davison's running mate, Dave Mihalic, is found ineligible to serve as lieutenant governor. Questions were raised in April by a supporter of Davison's chief rival for the GOP nomination, Secretary of State Bob Brown, whether Mihalic meets the Montana Constitution's two-year residency requirement to run for lieutenant governor.

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