Bob Carter

Bob Carter

Democratic Party

Candidate, Montana House of Representatives District 96

Montana House of Representatives District 96

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Prior offices

Target Range School District, At-large

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Montana House of Representatives District 98

Predecessor: Willis Curdy

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$104.86/legislative day

Per diem

$171/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

University of Montana, 2021

Personal

Birthplace

Great Falls, Mont.

Religion

Atheist

Profession

Scientist

Contact

Official website

Personal Facebook

Bob Carter (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 96. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Carter (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 96. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Biography

Bob Carter was born in Great Falls, Montana. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana in 2021. His career experience includes working as a scientist and reserve police officer.

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

Carter was assigned to the following committees:

• Agriculture Committee
• Business and Labor Committee
• Transportation 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

2026

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 96

Incumbent Bob Carter is running in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 96 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Bob Carter (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 96

Incumbent Bob Carter defeated Robert Labair in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 96 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Carter (D)	60.6	3,684
	Submit photo	Robert Labair (R)	39.4	2,394

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,078
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 96

Incumbent Bob Carter advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 96 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Carter	100.0	1,495

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,495
= 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 96

Robert Labair advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 96 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Robert Labair	100.0	952

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 952
= 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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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Carter in this election.

Pledges

Carter signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 98

Bob Carter defeated Sonia Shearer-Hiett and Richard Armerding in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 98 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Carter (D)	59.1	2,985
	Submit photo	Sonia Shearer-Hiett (R)	36.8	1,860
		Richard Armerding (L)	4.1	208

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,053
= 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 98

Bob Carter defeated Andy Nelson in the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 98 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Carter	57.4	994
	Submit photo	Andy Nelson	42.6	738

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,732
= 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 98

Sonia Shearer-Hiett advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 98 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sonia Shearer-Hiett	100.0	983

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 983
= 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.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Richard Armerding advanced from the Libertarian primary for Montana House of Representatives District 98.

Endorsements

To view Carter's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bob Carter has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Bob Carter, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Bob Carter did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Bob Carter completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carter's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A third-generation Montanan, Bob Carter grew up working on farms and ranches. A computer scientist by training, Bob received his bachelor's degree from the University of Montana with minors in both math and media arts with an emphasis in finance and accounting. Bob is an 11 year public school board trustee in addition to being on the board of directors for various nonprofit, governmental, educational and agricultural organizations as well as being a long-time community advocate and volunteer. Bob and his family live in Missoula and are state licensed foster care parents and small business owners.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Advocate for high-quality public education and affordable healthcare.
• Protecting our public lands, natural resources, human rights and voting rights.
• Promoting good paying jobs and affordable housing.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public education and women's reproductive rights.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Fact based decision making.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked on farms and ranches while in high school and college.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Montana's biggest challenges will be due to climate change.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

My passions are in public education and public lands.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

This year a transgender constituent asked me how much it cost the citizens of Montana to pass laws that tell her which bathroom she could or couldn't use.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is necessary for policy making because neither the far right or progressive left should be making the rules. The most people will be represented by doing so from close to the middle, and compromise may be the key to getting things done.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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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Bob Carter campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Montana House of Representatives District 96	Won general	$2,226	$0
2022	Montana House of Representatives District 98	Won general	$9,057	$0
Grand total			$11,283	$0
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

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.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Officeholder

Montana House of Representatives District 96

Website

Personal

Facebook

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Montana House of Representatives District 96 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Willis Curdy (D)	Montana House of Representatives District 98 2023-2025	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Target Range School District, At-large 2011	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)