Braxton Hudson

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Braxton Hudson

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

September 9, 2025

Education

High school

Helena High School

Personal

Birthplace

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Profession

Administrative assistant

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Braxton Hudson ran for election for Mayor of Helena in Montana. He lost in the primary on September 9, 2025.

Hudson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Hudson was a receptionist at Associated Dermatology as of August 2025.

Biography

Braxton Hudson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He earned a high school diploma from Helena High School and attended Carroll College. Hudson's career experience includes working as an administrative assistant.

Elections

2025

See also: Mayoral election in Helena, Montana (2025)

General election

General election for Mayor of Helena

Emily Dean and Andy Shirtliff are running in the general election for Mayor of Helena on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Emily Dean (Nonpartisan)
		Andy Shirtliff (Nonpartisan)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Helena

Andy Shirtliff and Emily Dean defeated Sonda Gaub, Chris Riccardo, and Braxton Hudson in the primary for Mayor of Helena on September 9, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Shirtliff (Nonpartisan)	48.3	5,468
✔		Emily Dean (Nonpartisan)	36.5	4,133
		Sonda Gaub (Nonpartisan)	8.6	969
		Chris Riccardo (Nonpartisan)	3.1	347
		Braxton Hudson (Nonpartisan)	2.9	328
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	68

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 11,313
= 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

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Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Braxton Hudson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hudson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Though I was born in Colorado, I've spent a majority of my life in Montana, and Helena specifically. I grew up here, went to school here, and now I'd like to give back to the community that raised me. This would be my first political job, as most of my experience up to this point has been customer service and administrative, but I think my fresh ideas can really help my hometown.

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?

• Like many places in Montana and across the country, Helena has been growing at an astounding rate. Our community needs to make changes now so that locals who want to stay here don't get pushed out by increases in the cost of living. I will fight to make sure that Helena stays affordable for everyone.
• As we grow, we will need to invest in our public systems to adapt with changes we are already seeing. We need to increase affordable housing, repair our sidewalks, address traffic and parking concerns, and look into expanding our Capital Transit busses into a more robust system. As your mayor, I will make sure these key issues and others are addressed by the city.
• As mayor, I will promote policy that will make sure Helena is welcoming to people from all walks of life. Regardless of your creed or custom, I will stand with you. In a time where individuals' rights and liberties are being infringed on, I will make sure the city will use its power for the common good.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm focused on affordability for the average person. In a time of sky-rocketing cost of living, I will endeavor to increase affordable housing options for those within the city. In the same vein, I'd like to see a regular bus system in town. Our current Capital Transit bus system isn't a robust enough system to have people use it regularly rather than driving a car. If we invest in regularly-scheduled mass transit, people could plan around them.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a community minded person. I care very much for my neighbors, and want to see everyone not just survive, but prosper. I hope to use the power of local government to help people in their day-to-day lives.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

As many people around my age will say, 9/11 is the first historical event I truly remember. I was 6 years old, and getting ready to go to school. I came into my parents' room to find them watching the events being broadcast to the world. I can't say I remember all the details of the day, but I remember the tension.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

It means representing the will of the community. The city commission is better equipped to understand and cater to the needs of the city than the State or Federal government due to its more limited scope. The mayor, presiding over commission meetings must have the interest of their neighbors at heart.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

In representative democracy, transparency is absolutely crucial. Montana goes to great efforts to make sure that official spending is visible to the public. It wouldn't do for someone in government to be receiving dark money from an unknown donor and putting said donor's interests above their constituents'.
Government MUST serve at the behest of the governed not to rule them, but to represent them. If a government is not accountable to its voters it is inherently illegitimate. The people should be privy to the decisions of its government at all levels, from the halls of Congress, to the day-to-day goings-on of its city administration.

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.

See also

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Candidate

Mayor of Helena

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