House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday selected Rep. Matt Regier of Kalispell and Sen. Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton as the leaders of their respective caucuses, cueing up a 2023 legislative session in which the GOP will enjoy the first two-thirds supermajority since Montana drafted its modern Constitution in 1972.
“Smile everybody, we’re running the place,” said Rep. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, who presided over the House caucus, to kick off the proceedings.
In the lower chamber, Republicans voted for Regier as Speaker of the House over Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta. And in the Senate, Ellsworth em...