Prosecutor, Veteran Announces Run for Montana Supreme Court

We have a new candidate in the race for the Montana Supreme Court.

Cory Swanson is an experienced attorney who has worked senior positions in the Montana Department of Justice and is currently serving as the Broadwater County Attorney. He's also an Iraq war veteran and full bird Colonel in the Montana Army National Guard with several deployments under his belt.

Swanson announced that he would be running for the Chief Justice slot being vacated by former Democrat Attorney General Mike McGrath. He made the announcement Wednesday morning for the Montana Talks statewide radio show.

Cory Swanson: When Montanans go to court, they expect a fair judge who will issue rulings based on the facts and the law, not on ideology. I’m committed to being a fair and impartial Chief Justice, who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. Montana voters should demand that of every judge and judicial candidate.

Swanson formerly served as Deputy Attorney General and is currently Vice President of the Montana County Attorneys Association. According to a press release from his campaign, Swanson grew up on the Hi-Line before graduating from Manhattan High School. He attended Montana State University and Carroll College and graduated from the University of Montana School of Law with Honors in 2004.

During his 26 years in the Guard he’s served on three deployments to the Middle East, including as commander of the 1-163rd Combined Arms Battalion for Operation Spartan Shield in 2022.

Swanson has served as the Broadwater County Attorney since 2014 and handles a criminal caseload of about 50 felonies and 300 misdemeanors per year.  One of the high profile cases he handled involved the prosecution of the man who killed a Broadwater County Sheriff's Deputy back in 2017.