Montana State Senate elections, 2010

Montana State Senate elections, 2010

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 1 • District 4 • District 5 • District 8 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 17 • District 20 • District 23 • District 25 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 35 • District 39 • District 40 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 48 • District 49

Montana State Senate

Elections for the office of Montana State Senator were held in Montana on November 2, 2010.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 15, 2010. The primary Election Day was June 8, 2010.

Of Montana's 50 total seats, 26 were up for election. The 26 seats are representative of districts 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 48, and 49.

Montana term limits, which state that officials may not seek re-election if they have held office for eight years in a 16-year period, are responsible for opening 15 of the 26 available seats.

Montana’s senators serve 4-year terms.

See also: Montana State Senate and State senate elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

1. Alan Olson
2. Anders Blewett
3. Art Wittich
4. Bob Lake
5. Chas Vincent
6. Dave Lewis
7. David Wanzenried
8. Edward Buttrey
9. Edward Walker
10. Frederick "Eric" Moore
11. Gene Vuckovich
12. Jason Priest
13. Jeff Essmann
14. Jim Peterson (Montana)
15. Jon Sonju
16. Kendall Van Dyk
17. Larry Jent
18. Llew Jones
19. Mary Caferro
20. Mitch Tropila
21. Ron Arthun
22. Rowlie Hutton
23. Shannon Augare
24. Terry Murphy
25. Tom Facey
26. Verdell Jackson

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 2 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Montana State Senate:

Montana State Senate
Party		As of November 1, 2010	After the 2010 Election
	Democratic Party	22	22
	Republican Party	27	28
	Vacancy	1	-
Total		50	50

Term limits

See also: State legislatures with term limits

The Montana State Senate has been a term-limited state senate since Montana voters approved CI-64 in 1992. C-64 created Section 8 of Article IV of the Montana Constitution, which says that Montana State Senators cannot serve 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state senator.

Altogether, there are 50 Montana State Senators. In 2010, 15 of them who are current members were ineligible to run for the senate again in November. They are:

Democrats (5):

• Carolyn Squires
• Joseph Tropila
• Kenneth Hansen
• Mike Cooney
• Trudi Schmidt

Republicans (10):

• Aubyn Curtiss
• Daniel McGee
• Gregory Barkus
• Jerry Black
• John Esp
• Keith Bales
• Kelly Gebhardt
• Rick Laible
• Robert Story

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state Senate in Montana in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state Senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	70	$993,331
2008	56	$744,742
2006	62	$687,206
2004	57	$600,450
2002	53	$521,540

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $993,331 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:

Donor	Amount
Noennig, Mark	$20,000
Gallik, Dave	$19,317
Priest, Jason S	$17,873
Facey, Thomas	$16,800
Comstock, Michael B	$9,416
Samson, Bruce	$7,245
Cohenour, Jill	$6,439
Arthun, Ron	$4,534
Page, Julia L	$3,720
Henry, Teresa K	$3,468

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

Only two incumbents (22.2%), Democrat Mitch Tropila and Republican Dave Lewis, face no competition in the November 2 general election.

Primary challenges

No incumbents faced competition in the June 8 primary.

Retiring incumbents

One incumbent representative, Democrat Carol Juneau, is eligible and not running for re-election, while 9 of the eligible incumbents (90%) ran for re-election. The remaining 15 incumbents term out in 2010.

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Montana State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A resident of the state for at least one year next preceding the general election
• A resident of the county for six months preceding the general election if it contains one or more districts or of the district if it contains all or parts of more than one county.

List of candidates

2010 State senate elections
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Parties with candidates
Impact of term limits
Successful challengers
Defeated incumbents
State house elections
State senate elections
State legislative elections

District 1

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrats filed to run for this seat.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Chas Vincent (R) 2,658 a
• Rhoda Cargill (R) 966

Note: Incumbent Aubyn Curtiss (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Chas Vincent 5,804 a

District 4

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Mary Reckin (D) 652 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jon Sonju (R) 1,924 a
• Dan Pickar (R) 456

Note: Incumbent Gregory Barkus (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Mary Reckin 1,902

Jon Sonju 4,007

District 5

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Edd Blackler (D) 727 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Verdell Jackson (R) 3,081 a Incumbent Jackson was first elected in 2007.

November 2 General election candidates:

Edd Blackler 2,447

Verdell Jackson 6,638

District 8

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Shannon Augare (D) 976 a
• Joey Jayne (D) 743

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Richard Jennison (R) 679 a

Note: Incumbent Carol Juneau (D) did not run for re-election.

November 2 General election candidates:

Shannon Augare 2,105

Richard Jennison 1,776

District 11

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Anders Blewett (D) 1,964 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jim Whitaker (R) 988 a

Note: Incumbent Trudi Schmidt (D) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Anders Blewett 2,989

Jim Whitaker 2,132

District 12

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Mitch Tropila (D) 1,291 a Incumbent Tropila was first elected in 2007.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• No Republicans filed to run for this seat.

November 2 General election candidates:

Mitch Tropila 2,737

District 13

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Kathleen Galvin-Halcro (D) 2,462 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Edward Buttrey (R) 1,181 a

Note: Incumbent Joseph Tropila (D) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Kathleen Galvin-Halcro 2,887

Edward Buttrey 3,914

District 14

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrats filed to run for this seat.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Llew Jones (R) 2,754 a

Note: Incumbent Jerry Black (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Llew Jones 5,523

District 15

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Dan Teigen (D) 1,028 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jim Peterson (R) 3,257 a Incumbent Peterson was first elected in 2007.

November 2 General election candidates:

Dan Teigen 1,977

Jim Peterson 6,231

District 17

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Bob Bergren (D) 2,021 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Rowlie Hutton (R) 811 a

Note: Incumbent Kenneth Hansen (D) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Bob Bergren 2,324

Rowlie Hutton 3,515

District 20

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrats filed to run for this seat.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Frederick "Eric" Moore (R) 2,284 a
• John Laney (R) 755
• Carole Lambert (R) 642
• Ray Roerick (R) 355

Note: Incumbent Keith Bales (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Frederick "Eric" Moore 5,828

District 23

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrats filed to run for this seat.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Alan Olson (R) 1,931 a
• Mark Noennig (R) 1,200
• Wesley Prouse (R) 966
• Kathy Galbreath (R) 573

Note: Incumbent Kelly Gebhardt (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Alan Olson 7,702

District 25

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Kendall Van Dyk (D) 1,208 a
• Linda Wetzel (D) 332

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Roy Brown (R) 2,071 a Incumbent Brown was first elected in 2007.

November 2 General election candidates:

Kendall Van Dyk 3,109

Roy Brown 3,101

District 28

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Russell Doty (D) 1,369 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jeff Essmann (R) 4,001 a Incumbent Essmann was first elected in 2005.

November 2 General election candidates:

Russell Doty 2,898

Jeff Essmann 5,906

District 29

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Friedrick Schweitzer (D) 1,240 a Schweitzer has withdrawn from the general election

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Edward Walker (R) 1,865 a
• Penny Morgan (R) 1,767

Note: Incumbent Daniel McGee (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Shirley Hanson 2,906

Edward Walker 5,865

District 30

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Aaron Kampfe (D) 1,033 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jason Priest (R) 2,531 a
• Scott Boggio (R) 1,628

Note: Incumbent Robert Story (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Aaron Kampfe 2,952

Jason Priest 5,525

District 31

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Julia Page (D) 674 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Ron Arthun (R) 1,776 a
• Pat Wagman (R) 1,491
• Tom Shellenberg (R) 832

Note: Incumbent John Esp (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Julia Page 2,770

Ron Arthun 5,506

District 32

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Larry Jent (D) 899 a Incumbent Jent was first elected in 2007.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Michael Comstock (R) 1,517 a
• Thomas Mid Mosser (R) 639

November 2 General election candidates:

Larry Jent 4,753

Michael Comstock 4,108

District 35

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Diane Elliot (D) 531 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Art Wittich (R) 1,835 a
• Shawn Moran (R) 859
• Bruce Samson (R) 808
• Dave Ponte (R) 153

Note: Incumbent Gary Perry (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Diane Elliot 2,962

Art Wittich 6,625

District 39

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Jill Cohenour (D) 1,618 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Terry Murphy (R) 2,123 a Incumbent Murphy was first elected in 2007.

November 2 General election candidates:

Jill Cohenour 3,244

Terry Murphy 4,939 a

District 40

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Mary Caferro (D) 1,655 a
• Dave Gallik (D) 1,073

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Patrick Faber (R) 1,349 a

Note: Incumbent Mike Cooney (D) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Mary Caferro 4,303

Patrick Faber 3,494

District 42

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• No Democrats filed to run for this seat.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Dave Lewis (R) 3,141 a Incumbent Lewis was first elected in 2004.

November 2 General election candidates:

Dave Lewis 7,361

District 43

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Gene Vuckovich (D) 1,009 a
• Wayne Ternes (D) 913
• Joe Rangitsch (D) 341

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Jonathan Arnold (R) 1,397 a

Note: District 43 was vacant prior to the November 2, 2010 general election.

November 2 General election candidates:

Gene Vuckovich 3,046

Jonathan Arnold 2,885

District 44

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Pam Erickson (D) 828 a

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Bob Lake (R) 2,690 a
• Art Baker (R) 1,206

June 8 Libertarian primary result:

• Dan Cox (L) a

Note: Incumbent Rick Laible (R) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Pam Erickson 2,544

Bob Lake 5,189

Dan Cox 1,047

District 48

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• Tom Facey (D) 1,205 a
• Teresa Henry (D) 710.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Patty Lovaas (R) 800 a

Note: Incumbent Carolyn Squires (D) did not run for re-election due to Montana term limits.

November 2 General election candidates:

Tom Facey 3,947

Patty Lovaas 2,422

District 49

June 8 Democratic primary result:

• David Wanzenried (D) 1,568 a Incumbent Wanzenried was first elected in 2007.

June 8 GOP primary result:

• Kevin Kerr (R) 800 a

November 2 General election candidates:

David Wanzenried 4,037

Kevin Kerr 3,006

See also

• Montana State Senate
• Montana State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2010
• Primary election dates in 2010

External links

• Official Montana Senate Election Results, 2010
• Montana Secretary of State - 2010 general election results
• List of candidates for 2010 Montana State Senate
• June 8, 2010 primary election results
• Montana Secretary of State's page on term limits
• Montana Democratic Party's list of 2010 candidates
• Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Montana State Senate in the November 2, 2010 election