Bill Mercer

Bill Mercer

Republican Party

United States District Court for the District of Montana

Tenure

Nominee

Predecessor

Dana Christensen

Montana House of Representatives District 52

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Prior offices

Montana House of Representatives District 46

Predecessor: Don Jones

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Compensation

Base salary

$104.86/legislative day

Per diem

$171/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Montana, 1986

Graduate

Harvard University, 1988

Law

George Mason University School of Law, 1993

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Bill Mercer (Republican Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 52. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Mercer (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 52. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

On July 15, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Bill Mercer to the United States District Court for the District of Montana. As of September 11, 2025, Mercer was awaiting a confirmation vote from the full U.S. Senate. Click here for more information on Mercer's federal judicial nomination.

The United States District Court for the District of Montana is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Montana

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On July 15, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Mercer to the United States District Court for the District of Montana. To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Bill Mercer
Court: United States District Court for the District of Montana
Progress
68 days since nomination.
ANominated: July 15, 2025
AABA Rating: Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
AHearing: July 30, 2025
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: September 11, 2025
AConfirmed:

Confirmation vote

As of September 11, 2025, Mercer was awaiting a confirmation vote from the full U.S. Senate. Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a full Senate vote.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Mercer's nomination on July 30, 2025. The committee voted to advance Mercer's nomination to the full Senate on September 11, 2025. Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On July 15, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Bill Mercer to the United States District Court for the District of Montana.

Mercer was nominated to replace Judge Dana Christensen, who will assume senior status upon Mercer's confirmation.

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Mercer well qualified. To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Bill Mercer earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in 1986, a graduate degree from Harvard University in 1988, and a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law in 1993. His career includes serving as a partner at Holland & Hart, as the U.S. Attorney for Montana from 2001 to 2009, and as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 1994 to 2001.

About the court

District of Montana
Ninth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 3
Judges: 3
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Brian Morris
Active judges: Dana Christensen, Brian Morris, Susan Pamela Watters Senior judges: Sam Haddon, Charles Lovell, Donald Molloy

The District of Montana has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The court is located in Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

• The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
• The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

• As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

• After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

• If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
• If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

• The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

• If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
• If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Mercer was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee

2021-2022

Mercer was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee

2019-2020

Mercer was assigned to the following committees:

• General Government Committee
• Appropriations Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 52

Incumbent Bill Mercer defeated Carole Boerner in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 52 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer (R)	67.7	4,522
	Submit photo	Carole Boerner (D)	32.3	2,162

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,684
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 52

Carole Boerner advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 52 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Carole Boerner	100.0	912

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 912
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 52

Incumbent Bill Mercer advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 52 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer	100.0	2,296

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,296
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Mercer in this election.

2022

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Bill Mercer defeated Tim Warburton in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer (R)	63.9	3,204
	Submit photo	Tim Warburton (D)	36.1	1,811

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,015
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Tim Warburton advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Tim Warburton	100.0	1,031

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,031
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Bill Mercer advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer	100.0	2,282

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,282
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Bill Mercer defeated Zach Ladson in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer (R)	67.7	4,265
	Submit photo	Zach Ladson (D)	32.3	2,031

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,296
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Zach Ladson advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Zach Ladson	100.0	1,406

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,406
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Bill Mercer advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer	100.0	2,407

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,407
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Bill Mercer defeated Anne Giuliano in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer (R)	59.2	3,386
		Anne Giuliano (D)	40.8	2,337

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,723
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Anne Giuliano advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anne Giuliano	100.0	1,220

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,220
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46

Bill Mercer defeated Josiah Loven in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 46 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Mercer	88.3	1,966
		Josiah Loven	11.7	260

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 2,226
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bill Mercer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Bill Mercer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Bill Mercer did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Bill Mercer campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Montana House of Representatives District 52	Won general	$11,110	$0
2022	Montana House of Representatives District 46	Won general	$14,859	$0
2020	Montana House of Representatives District 46	Won general	$12,539	N/A**
2018	Montana House of Representatives District 46	Won general	$23,907	N/A**
Grand total			$62,414	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Montana

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Montana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].
In 2024, the Montana State Legislature was not in session.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 2 to May 2. Forward Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Montana Audubon Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Montana Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Federation of Public Employees Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Montana Human Rights Network Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Montana State AFL-CIO Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. United Property Owners of Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to property owners' interests.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the Montana State Legislature was not in session.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 29. Americans for Prosperity Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Forward Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Montana Audubon Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Montana Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Farm Bureau Federation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture. Montana Federation of Public Employees Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. Montana Human Rights Network Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Montana Public Interest Research Group Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Montana Sportsmen Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Montana State AFL-CIO Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues. Montanans for Limited Government Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. United Property Owners of Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to property owners' interests.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the Montana State Legislature was not in session.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 7 through April 25. Americans for Prosperity Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Montana Audubon Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues. Montana Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Montana Environmental Information Center: 2019 Senate and House voting records Legislators are scored on bills related to the environment. Montana Farm Bureau Federation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture. Montana Human Rights Network Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. Montana Public Interest Research Group Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Montana Sportsmen Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. Montana State AFL-CIO Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. United Property Owners of Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to property owners' interests.

See also

• United States District Court for the District of Montana

2024 Elections

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Newsletters

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External links

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Candidate

Montana House of Representatives District 52

Website

Facebook

Footnotes

Montana courts

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Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana

State courts:

Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court

State resources:

Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the District of Montana

Political offices
Preceded by -	Montana House of Representatives District 52 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Don Jones (R)	Montana House of Representatives District 46 2019-2025	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Dana Christensen	United States District Court for the District of Montana	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Montana House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Brandon Ler

Majority Leader:Steve Fitzpatrick

Minority Leader:Katie Sullivan

Representatives

District 1

Neil Duram (R)

District 2

Tom Millett (R)

District 3

Debo Powers (D)

District 4

Lyn Bennett (R)

District 5

Braxton Mitchell (R)

District 6

Amy Regier (R)

District 7

Courtenay Sprunger (R)

District 8

Lukas Schubert (R)

District 9

Steven Kelly (R)

District 10

Terry Falk (R)

District 11

Ed Byrne (R)

District 12

Tracy Sharp (R)

District 13

Linda Reksten (R)

District 14

Paul Fielder (R)

District 15

Thedis Crowe (D)

District 16

Tyson Running Wolf (D)

District 17

Zachary Wirth (R)

District 18

Llew Jones (R)

District 19

Jane Weber (D)

District 20

Melissa Nikolakakos (R)

District 21

Edward Buttrey (R)

District 22

George Nikolakakos (R)

District 23

Eric Tilleman (R)

District 24

Steve Fitzpatrick (R)

District 25

Steve Gist (R)

District 26

Russ Miner (R)

District 27

Paul Tuss (D)

District 28

Eric Albus (R)

District 29

Valerie Moore (R)

District 30

Morgan Thiel (R)

District 31

Frank Smith (D)

District 32

Mike Fox (D)

District 33

Brandon Ler (R)

District 34

Jerry Schillinger (R)

District 35

Gary Parry (R)

District 36

Greg Kmetz (R)

District 37

Shane Klakken (R)

District 38

Greg Oblander (R)

District 39

Kerri Seekins-Crowe (R)

District 40

Mike Vinton (R)

District 41

Jade Sooktis (D)

District 42

Sidney Fitzpatrick (D)

District 43

Larry Brewster (R)

District 44

Katie Zolnikov (R)

District 45

Denise Baum (D)

District 46

Denise Joy (D)

District 47

James Reavis (D)

District 48

Curtis Schomer (R)

District 49

Sherry Essmann (R)

District 50

Anthony Nicastro (R)

District 51

Jodee Etchart (R)

District 52

Bill Mercer (R)

District 53

Nelly Nicol (R)

District 54

Lee Deming (R)

District 55

Brad Barker (R)

District 56

Fiona Nave (R)

District 57

Scott Rosenzweig (D)

District 58

Jamie Isaly (D)

District 59

Ed Stafman (D)

District 60

Alanah Griffith (D)

District 61

Becky Edwards (D)

District 62

Josh Seckinger (D)

District 63

Peter Strand (D)

District 64

Kelly Kortum (D)

District 65

Brian Close (D)

District 66

Eric Matthews (D)

District 67

Jedediah Hinkle (R)

District 68

Caleb Hinkle (R)

District 69

Kenneth Walsh (R)

District 70

Shannon Maness (R)

District 71

Scott DeMarois (D)

District 72

Donavon Hawk (D)

District 73

Jennifer Lynch (D)

District 74

Marc Lee (D)

District 75

Mark Reinschmidt (R)

District 76

John Fitzpatrick (R)

District 77

Jane Gillette (R)

District 78

Randyn Gregg (R)

District 79

Luke Muszkiewicz (D)

District 80

Melissa Romano (D)

District 81

Mary Caferro (D)

District 82

Pete Elverum (D)

District 83

Jill Cohenour (D)

District 84

Julie Darling (R)

District 85

Kathy Love (R)

District 86

David Bedey (R)

District 87

Terry Nelson (R)

District 88

Greg Overstreet (R)

District 89

Mark Thane (D)

District 90

Curtis Cochran (R)

District 91

Shelly Fyant (D)

District 92

Connie Keogh (D)

District 93

Katie Sullivan (D)

District 94

Marilyn Marler (D)

District 95

Zooey Zephyr (D)

District 96

Bob Carter (D)

District 97

Melody Cunningham (D)

District 98

Jonathan Karlen (D)

District 99

Tom France (D)

District 100

SJ Howell (D)

Republican Party (58)

Democratic Party (42)