Chris Friedel

Chris Friedel

Republican Party

Prior offices

Montana State Senate District 26

Predecessor: Margaret MacDonald

---

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 4, 2024

Education

High school

Billings West High School

Personal

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Chris Friedel (Republican Party) was a member of the Montana State Senate, representing District 26. He assumed office on January 4, 2021. He left office on January 6, 2025.

Friedel (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 27. He lost in the Republican primary on June 4, 2024.

Biography

Chris Friedel graduated from Billings West High School. Friedel earned a degree in small business marketing and finance from Montana Technological University. His career experience includes owning a business.

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

Friedel was assigned to the following committees:

• Highways and Transportation Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Local Government Committee, Chair

2021-2022

Friedel was assigned to the following committees:

• Highways and Transportation Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Local Government 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 State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana State Senate District 27

Vince Ricci defeated Kathleen Gilluly in the general election for Montana State Senate District 27 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vince Ricci (R)	74.2	8,446
		Kathleen Gilluly (D)	25.8	2,942

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,388
= 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 State Senate District 27

Kathleen Gilluly advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 27 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathleen Gilluly	100.0	1,155

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,155
= 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 State Senate District 27

Vince Ricci defeated incumbent Chris Friedel in the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 27 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vince Ricci	60.6	2,519
		Chris Friedel	39.4	1,640

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,159
= 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 Friedel in this election.

2020

See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana State Senate District 26

Chris Friedel defeated incumbent Margaret MacDonald in the general election for Montana State Senate District 26 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Friedel (R)	52.5	4,823
		Margaret MacDonald (D)	47.5	4,355

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,178
= 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 State Senate District 26

Incumbent Margaret MacDonald advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 26 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Margaret MacDonald	100.0	2,225

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,225
= 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 State Senate District 26

Chris Friedel defeated Rodney Garcia in the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 26 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Friedel	57.0	1,538
	Submit photo	Rodney Garcia	43.0	1,160

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,698
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Larry Schuster (R)

Endorsements

To view Friedel's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chris Friedel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Chris Friedel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Friedel'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.

I grew up in a family with four boys and parents who were hard-working business owners. My parents instilled in me a work ethic that guides me to this day. After my graduation from Billings West High School, I was fortunate enough to win a scholarship to play football for Montana Tech. Following in the footsteps of my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, I wanted to become a business owner. My college major was Small Business Marketing and Financing. After I finished college, I met my wonderful wife of twelve years, Leslie. We have been blessed with two children, Arabella and Liam.

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?

• Public Safety
• Economic Growth
• Quality Education

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I grew up learning about this country's founding fathers and about Abraham Lincoln. I watched the old videos of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. I saw ordinary people achieve extraordinary things for their community. I saw them step forward in uncertain times to make decisions, drawing a "line in the sand," you could say. As to your question "why?" I am concerned for my children and for the children of Billings. I want to solve today's problems so that they won't have to deal with them. Their future is my inspiration.

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

November 9th, 1989, The Fall of the Berlin Wall. I was 9 years old

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

My first job was working with my dad in our family business. I worked in that particular business until I went to college at Montana Tech.

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

---

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.

---

Chris Friedel campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Montana State Senate District 27	Lost primary	$10,547	$0
2020	Montana State Senate District 26	Won general	$16,065	N/A**
Grand total			$26,612	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

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.

See also

2024 Elections

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

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Montana State Senate District 27

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Personal

Facebook

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Margaret MacDonald (D)	Montana State Senate District 26 2021-2025	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Montana State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Matt Regier

Majority Leader:Tom McGillvray

Senators

District 1

Mike Cuffe (R)

District 2

Dave Fern (D)

District 3

Carl Glimm (R)

District 4

John Fuller (R)

District 5

Matt Regier (R)

District 6

Mark Noland (R)

District 7

Greg Hertz (R)

District 8

Susan Webber (D)

District 9

Bruce Gillespie (R)

District 10

Jeremy Trebas (R)

District 11

Daniel Emrich (R)

District 12

Wendy McKamey (R)

District 13

Joshua Kassmier (R)

District 14

Russel Tempel (R)

District 15

Gregg Hunter (R)

District 16

Jonathan Windy Boy (D)

District 17

Bob Phalen (R)

District 18

Kenneth Bogner (R)

District 19

Barry Usher (R)

District 20

Sue Vinton (R)

District 21

Gayle Lammers (R)

District 22

Daniel Zolnikov (R)

District 23

Emma Kerr-Carpenter (D)

District 24

Mike Yakawich (R)

District 25

Dennis Lenz (R)

District 26

Tom McGillvray (R)

District 27

Vince Ricci (R)

District 28

Forrest Mandeville (R)

District 29

John Esp (R)

District 30

Cora Neumann (D)

District 31

Pat Flowers (D)

District 32

Denise Hayman (D)

District 33

Christopher Pope (D)

District 34

Shelley Vance (R)

District 35

Tony Tezak (R)

District 36

Sara Novak (D)

District 37

Derek Harvey (D)

District 38

Becky Beard (R)

District 39

Wylie Galt (R)

District 40

Laura Smith (D)

District 41

Janet Ellis (D)

District 42

Mary Dunwell (D)

District 43

Jason Ellsworth (R)

District 44

Theresa Manzella (R)

District 45

Denley Loge (R)

District 46

Jacinda Morigeau (D)

District 47

Ellie Boldman (D)

District 48

Andrea Olsen (D)

District 49

Willis Curdy (D)

District 50

Shane Morigeau (D)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (18)