A pair of campaign watchdog groups says they’re filing complaints with federal authorities over alleged illegal coordination between the NRA and the Republican candidate for Senate in Montana . The Campaign Legal Center and former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords’ political organization are asking the Federal Election Commission to investigate what Candidate Matt Rosendale says in a recording released this week by The Daily Beast.

Democrats are accusing the Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale of illegally coordinating with the National Rifle Association After this audio recording was posted on The Daily Beast Web site. (Click play above to listen) Eric Whitney: The muddy audio lasts 54 seconds, and in it Matt Rosendale tells an unidentified person that he expected the NRA to buy media ads in support of his campaign against Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester . John Adams, editor of the Montana Free Press

The candidates running for Montana’s seat in the U.S. House are using very different campaign tactics. MTPR’s News Director Eric Whitney talks with longtime political reporter Tom Lutey about what the candidates are doing, and why.

New York Times columnist, author and public broadcasting commentator David Brooks is in Missoula to kick off the University of Montana's President's Lecture series . The conservative pundit spoke about Donald Trump and humility with Sally Mauk before the lecture. "To me, humility is not thinking lowly of yourself," Brooks says. "My favorite definition is, 'it's radical self-awareness from a position of other-centeredness."

Senator Jon Tester held an ice cream social Friday at the University of Montana to encourage students to vote. He also fielded questions about issues surrounding November’s election. The event was billed as a chance for Senator Tester to hear from students about issues they care about and talk about the upcoming election. That’s exactly what happened when Tester stepped to the front of the room of about 60 people in the University Center on the University of Montana campus. Tester also tried to

Trump rallies in Montana again hoping to defeat Jon Tester's bid for re-election — and it's personal. New campaign ads in the House and Senate races stretch the truth. And Governor Bullock shifts position on guns as he ponders a run for president. These stories and more tonight on "Campaign Beat," MTPR's weekly political analysis program.

In about a year, the Environmental Protection Agency will leave Libby, where it’s worked for the last two decades to clean up asbestos contamination, a lethal byproduct leftover from W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine. But locals in Lincoln County say the EPA packing up doesn’t necessarily mean cleanup work is done.

The latest fundraising reports show that opponents of the ballot initiative proposing increasing Montana’s tobacco tax boosted contributions by $7.7 million in August. That’s nearly eight times what the campaign supporting the ballot issue raised in the same period.

Montana Senator Steve Daines Thursday reiterated his unwavering support for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. “I’m just surprised at how the media and the protesters are trying to take us down a rabbit trail. We've got to come back to the qualifications of judge Kavanaugh," Daines said.

Governor Steve Bullock named a new state budget director Thursday. Bullock is tapping the current head of the Department of Environmental Quality for the job as the state’s top accountant.