2022 Montana Senate election

2022 Montana Senate election

November 8, 2022 (2022-11-08)
27 seats in the Montana Senate 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mark Blasdel (term-limited) Jill Cohenour (term-limited) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 4, 2021 January 4, 2021 Leader's seat 4th-Kalispell 42nd-Helena Last election 31 19 Seats won 34 16 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 147,211 84,414 Percentage 63.56% 36.44%
Results:      Republican gain      Republican hold      Democratic hold      No election
Senate President before election Mark Blasdel Republican Elected Senate President Jason Ellsworth Republican

An election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect 25 members to Montana's Senate. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including the U.S. House of Representatives, and state house. The primary election was held on June 7, 2022. Republicans expanded their supermajority in the chamber as they did in the house.

Retirements

Democrats

1. District 12: Carlie Boland retired.
2. District 24: Mary McNally retired due to term limits.
3. District 33: Jennifer Pomnichowski retired due to term limits.
4. District 42: Jill Cohenour retired due to term limits.
5. District 49: Diane Sands retired due to term limits.

Republicans

1. District 4: Mark Blasdel retired due to term limits.
2. District 5: Bob Keenan retired due to term limits.
3. District 13: Brian Hoven retired due to term limits.
4. District 20: Duane Ankney retired due to term limits.
5. District 22: Douglas Kary retired due to term limits.
6. District 27: Cary Smith retired due to term limits.
7. District 29: David Howard retired due to term limits.
8. District 34: Gordon Vance retired due to term limits.

Incumbents defeated

In primaries

Democrats

1. District 50: Tom Steenberg lost renomination to Andrea Olsen.

In general

Democrats

1. District 11: Tom Jacobson defeated by Daniel Emrich.

Open seats that changed parties

Democrats

1. District 12: Carlie Boland (D) was term-limited and could not seek re-election, seat won by Wendy McKamey (R)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe R	May 19, 2022

Results summary

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Republican Party	26	147,211	63.56	34	3	68
	Democratic Party	19	84,414	36.44	16	3	32
Total		55	231,625	100	50		100

Senate seats Republican   68.00% Democratic   32.00%

Popular vote Republican   63.56% Democratic   36.44%

Close races

Districts where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. District 13, 3.33%
2. District 32, 4.6%
3. District 11, 5.84% gain
4. District 49, 8.85%
5. District 39 (unexpired), 9.32% gain

Summary of results by State Senate district

State Senate district	Incumbent	Party		Elected Senator	Party
Montana 1	Mike Cuffe		Rep	Mike Cuffe		Rep
Montana 4	Mark Blasdel		Rep	John Fuller		Rep
Montana 5	Bob Keenan		Rep	Mark Noland		Rep
Montana 8	Susan Webber		Dem	Susan Webber		Dem
Montana 9	Bruce Gillespie		Rep	Bruce Gillespie		Rep
Montana 11	Tom Jacobson		Dem	Daniel Emrich		Rep
Montana 12	Carlie Boland		Dem	Wendy McKamey		Rep
Montana 13	Brian Hoven		Rep	Jeremy Trebas		Rep
Montana 14	Russel Tempel		Rep	Russel Tempel		Rep
Montana 15 (special)	Dan Bartel		Rep	Dan Bartel		Rep
Montana 19	Kenneth Bogner		Rep	Kenneth Bogner		Rep
Montana 20	Duane Ankney		Rep	Barry Usher		Rep
Montana 22	Douglas Kary		Rep	Daniel Zolnikov		Rep
Montana 24	Mary McNally		Dem	Kathy Kelker		Dem
Montana 27	Cary Smith		Rep	Dennis Lenz		Rep
Montana 29	David Howard		Rep	Forrest Mandeville		Rep
Montana 30	John Esp		Rep	John Esp		Rep
Montana 32	Pat Flowers		Dem	Pat Flowers		Dem
Montana 33	Jennifer Pomnichowski		Dem	Denise Hayman		Dem
Montana 34	Gordon Vance		Rep	Shelley Vance		Rep
Montana 39 (special)	Mark Sweeney		Dem	Terry Vermeire		Rep
Montana 41	Janet Ellis		Dem	Janet Ellis		Dem
Montana 42	Jill Cohenour		Dem	Mary Ann Dunwell		Dem
Montana 43	Jason Ellsworth		Rep	Jason Ellsworth		Rep
Montana 48	Shane Morigeau		Dem	Shane Morigeau		Dem
Montana 49	Diane Sands		Dem	Willis Curdy		Dem
Montana 50	Tom Steenberg		Dem	Andrea Olsen		Dem

Detailed results

Districts 1-22

District 1

Incumbent Republican Mike Cuffe had represented the 1st district since 2019.

Montana Senate 1st district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Cuffe (incumbent)	7,586	100%
Total votes			7,586	100%
	Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent Republican Senate President Mark Blasdel hds represented the 4th district since 2015. Blasdel was term-limited and could not seek re-election. State Representative John Fuller and Lee Huestis were seeking the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 4th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Fuller	5,180	62.19%
	Democratic	Kyle Waterman	3,149	37.81%
Total votes			8,329	100%
	Republican hold

District 5

Incumbent Republican Bob Keenan had represented the 4th district since 2015. Keenan was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Mark Noland and Rob Tracy were seeking the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 5th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Noland	7,995	100%
Total votes			7,995	100%
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Susan Webber had represented the 8th district since 2019.

Montana Senate 8th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Susan Webber (incumbent)	2,675	57.27%
	Republican	Rick Jennison	1,996	42.73%
Total votes			4,671	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Republican Bruce Gillespie had represented the 9th district since 2019.

Montana Senate 9th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Gillespie (incumbent)	6,780	100%
Total votes			6,780	100%
	Republican hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Tom Jacobson had represented the 11th district since 2019.

Montana Senate 11th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Emrich	3,683	52.92%
	Democratic	Tom Jacobson (incumbent)	3,276	47.08%
Total votes			6,959	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Carlie Boland had represented the 12th district since 2017. Boland did not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 12th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wendy McKamey	3,358	55.98%
	Democratic	Jacob Bachmeier	2,641	44.02%
Total votes			5,999	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 13

Incumbent Republican Brian Hoven had represented the 13th district since 2015. Hoven was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 13th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeremy Trebas	2,681	51.67%
	Democratic	Casey Schreiner	2,508	48.33%
Total votes			5,189	100%
	Republican hold

District 14

Incumbent Republican Russel Tempel had represented the 14th district since 2017. Steven Chivilicek challenged Tempel for the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 14th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Russel Tempel (incumbent)	5,624	71.60%
	Democratic	David H. Brewer	2,231	28.40%
Total votes			7,855	100%
	Republican hold

District 15 (special)

Incumbent Republican Dan Bartel had represented the 15th district since his appointment on November 8, 2021.

Montana Senate 15th district special general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dan Bartel (incumbent)	7,504	79.94%
	Democratic	Cindy Palmer	1,883	20.06%
Total votes			9,387	100%
	Republican hold

District 19

Incumbent Republican Kenneth Bogner had represented the 19th district since 2019.

Montana Senate 19th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth Bogner (incumbent)	7,643	100%
Total votes			7,643	100%
	Republican hold

District 20

Incumbent Republican Duane Ankney had represented the 20th district since 2015. Ankney was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Geraldine Custer and Barry Usher were seeking the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 20th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Barry Usher	7,739	100%
Total votes			7,739	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Republican Douglas Kary had represented the 22nd district since 2015. Kary was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 22nd district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Zolnikov	4,853	65.74%
	Democratic	Terry Dennis	2,529	34.26%
Total votes			7,382	100%
	Republican hold

Districts 24-50

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Mary McNally had represented the 24th district since 2015. McNally was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 24th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Kelker	3,950	55.96%
	Republican	Elijah Tidswell	3,109	44.04%
Total votes			7,059	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Republican Cary Smith had represented the 27th district since 2015. Smith was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 27th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Lenz	9,670	100%
Total votes			9,670	100%
	Republican hold

District 29

Incumbent Republican David Howard had represented the 29th district since 2015. Howard was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 29th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Forrest Mandeville	8,437	100%
Total votes			8,437	100%
	Republican hold

District 30

Incumbent Republican John Esp had represented the 30th district since 2019.

Montana Senate 30th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Esp (incumbent)	6,041	55.32%
	Democratic	Jamie L. Isaly	4,879	44.68%
Total votes			10,920	100%
	Republican hold

District 32

Incumbent Democrat Pat Flowers had represented the 32nd district since 2019.

Montana Senate 32nd district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pat Flowers (incumbent)	5,572	52.30%
	Republican	Randy Chamberlin	5,082	47.70%
Total votes			10,654	100%
	Democratic hold

District 33

Incumbent Democrat Jennifer Pomnichowski had represented the 33rd district since 2015. Pomnichowski was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 33rd district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Denise Hayman	8,039	67.91%
	Republican	Adam Dewis	3,799	32.09%
Total votes			11,838	100%
	Democratic hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Gordon Vance had represented the 34th district since 2015. Vance was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Shelley Vance and Bryan Donald Haysom were seeking the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 34th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shelley Vance	6,516	63.89%
	Democratic	Damion Lynn	3,683	36.11%
Total votes			10,199	100%
	Republican hold

District 39 (special)

Incumbent Democrat Mark Sweeney was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the Second Congressional District of Montana, but died on May 6, 2022.

Montana Senate 39th district special general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Terry Vermeire	4,491	54.66%
	Democratic	Jesse James Mullen	3,725	45.33%
Total votes			8,216	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

District 41

Incumbent Democrat Janet Ellis had represented the 41st district since 2019.

Montana Senate 41st district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Janet Ellis (incumbent)	5,423	55.36%
	Republican	Dave Galt	4,372	44.64%
Total votes			9,795	100%
	Democratic hold

District 42

Incumbent Democrat Jill Cohenour had represented the 43rd district since 2015. Cohenour was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

Montana Senate 42nd district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Ann Dunwell	5,071	55.28%
	Republican	Matt Olson	4,103	44.72%
Total votes			9,174	100%
	Democratic hold

District 43

Incumbent Republican Jason Ellsworth had represented the 43rd district since 2019. Joede Vanek challenged Ellsworth in the Republican primary.

Montana Senate 43rd district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jason Ellsworth (incumbent)	7,868	67.63%
	Democratic	John F. Schneeberger	3,766	32.37%
Total votes			11,634	100%
	Republican hold

District 48

Incumbent Democrat Shane Morigeau had represented the 48th district since 2020.

Montana Senate 48th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shane Morigeau (incumbent)	6,329	63.88%
	Republican	Jacob Van Horn	3,579	36.12%
Total votes			9,908	100%
	Democratic hold

District 49

Incumbent Democrat Diane Sands had represented the 49th district since 2015. Sands was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Brad Tschida and Nancy Burgoyne were seeking the Republican nomination.

Montana Senate 49th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Willis Curdy	5,630	54.43%
	Republican	Brad Tschida	4,714	45.57%
Total votes			10,344	100%
	Democratic hold

District 50

Incumbent Democrat Tom Steenberg had represented the 50th district and its predecessors since his appointment in September 2021. State Representative Andrea Olsen challenged Steenberg for the Democratic nomination.

Montana Senate 50th district general election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andrea Olsen	7,455	72.64%
	Republican	Nick Knowles	2,808	27.36%
Total votes			10,263	100%
	Democratic hold

See also

• List of Montana state legislatures