Derek Skees

Derek Skees

Republican Party

Prior offices

Montana House of Representatives District 4

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Montana House of Representatives District 11

Successor: Tanner Smith

Predecessor: Albert Olszewski

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Elections and appointments

Last election

June 7, 2022

Contact

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Derek Skees (Republican Party) was a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 11. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on January 2, 2023.

Skees (Republican Party) ran for election to the Montana Public Service Commission to represent District 5. He lost in the Republican primary on June 7, 2022.

Skees is a former Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 4 from 2011 to 2013.

Biography

Skees' professional experience includes working as the following; vice president at Roger Porch Construction Incorporated, manager of United Parcel Service, and small construction business owner.

Skees earned his AA from Seminole Community College.

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.

2021-2022

Skees was assigned to the following committees:

• Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations Committee, Chair
• House Judiciary Committee
• House Rules Committee, Chair

2019-2020

Skees was assigned to the following committees:

• House Ethics Committee, Vice Chair
• House Judiciary Committee
• Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations Committee, Vice Chair
• House Local Government Committee
• House Rules Committee, Chair

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Montana committee assignments, 2017
• Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations, Vice chair
• Local Government
• State Administration

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Skees served on these committees:

• Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications
• Local Government
• State Administration

Issues

Legislation

Teacher tenure

In 2011, Wyoming and Montana started working on bills that would end teacher tenure. Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho all shared heavily-Republican legislatures in the 2011 session. Anti-tenure ideas came from Republicans in Wyoming and Montana, raising the question about whether a similar plan could come to the Idaho.

Rep. Skees said he “want(s) to make tenure basically illegal in the state of Montana."

"Any environment that legalizes bad behavior needs to be removed, and I think tenure legalizes bad behavior,” said Skees.

The Skees’ plan would not have only included K-12 public school teachers, but university professors as well.

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

2022

See also: Montana Public Service Commission election, 2022

General election

General election for Montana Public Service Commission District 5

Ann Bukacek defeated John Repke in the general election for Montana Public Service Commission District 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ann Bukacek (R)	56.5	54,078
		John Repke (D)	43.5	41,572

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 95,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 5

John Repke defeated Kevin Hamm in the Democratic primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Repke	53.7	8,820
		Kevin Hamm	46.3	7,599

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,419
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 5

Ann Bukacek defeated Derek Skees, Joe Dooling, and Dean Crabb in the Republican primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ann Bukacek	31.2	11,233
		Derek Skees	31.0	11,146
		Joe Dooling	29.0	10,442
	Submit photo	Dean Crabb	8.7	3,143

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,964
= 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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2020

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 11

Incumbent Derek Skees won election in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 11 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Skees (R)	100.0	5,358

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,358
= 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 11

Incumbent Derek Skees defeated Dee Kirk-Boon in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 11 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Skees	56.1	1,629
		Dee Kirk-Boon	43.9	1,276

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,905
= 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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2018

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 11

Incumbent Derek Skees defeated JoBeth Blair in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 11 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Skees (R)	71.1	3,667
		JoBeth Blair (D)	28.9	1,489

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,156
= 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 11

JoBeth Blair advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 11 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		JoBeth Blair	100.0	525

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 525
= 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 11

Incumbent Derek Skees advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 11 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Skees	100.0	1,969

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,969
= 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.

2016

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Montana House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 14, 2016. Incumbent Albert Olszewski (R) did not seek re-election.

Derek Skees defeated Eileen Bech in the Montana House of Representatives District 11 general election.

Montana House of Representatives, District 11 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Derek Skees	74.19%	3,752
	Democratic	Eileen Bech	25.81%	1,305
Total Votes				5,057
Source: Montana Secretary of State

Eileen Bech ran unopposed in the Montana House of Representatives District 11 Democratic primary.

Montana House of Representatives, District 11 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Eileen Bech  (unopposed)

Derek Skees defeated Jean Barragan in the Montana House of Representatives District 11 Republican primary.

Montana House of Representatives, District 11 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Derek Skees	52.33%	1,000
	Republican	Jean Barragan	47.67%	911
Total Votes				1,911
Source: Montana Secretary of State

2014

See also: Montana down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Skees ran for election to the office of Montana Public Service Commissioner. He lost in the primary on June 3, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Primary Results

Montana Public Service Commissioner #5, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brad Johnson	49.5%	12,578
Derek Skees	34%	8,640
John Campbell	16.4%	4,172
Total Votes		25,390
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

2012

See also: Montana down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Skees ran for Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor in 2012. He was unopposed in the June 5 Republican primary and lost to Democratic incumbent Monica Lindeen in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Monica Lindeen Incumbent	53.5%	248,447
	Republican	Derek Skees	46.5%	215,743
Total Votes				464,190
Election results via Montana Secretary of State

Montana Auditor Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Derek Skees	100%	105,110
Total Votes		105,110
Election results via Montana Secretary of State.

Issue positions

A major issue of the 2012 campaign was implementation of the Affordable Care Act, referred to as "Obamacare." Skees said if elected he would work to repeal the law, stating “The vast majority of Montanans are against Obamacare; I am anti-Obamacare. Every time she comes out and says she’s for Obamacare, and (she’s) going to implement it, Montanans are going to say, `That’s horrible – who’s running against her?’”

Skees' campaign website for State Auditor listed the states the following:

Excerpt: "My goal will always be to leave the citizens of this state more free than when I took office. I will be a tireless advocate of Tax and government waste reduction. We must treat the current financial crisis as free market advocates and work to reduce the governments spending so that we don’t have to raise taxes. We must hold sacred the Property Rights of each citizen and work to turn back the clock on the erosion of those unalienable rights. State law should guarantee that the security of the individual is assured by his firearms and not the power of the police state."

He added, "Montana needs men and women for this session of congress that can make the tough decisions we need them to make. No new taxes, accountability in spending and budget reduction measures and policies that make job growth in the private sector a reality. We can recover from this and we can provide a future for ourselves that will be back to the prosperity we want, and we can only do this through the polling stations in this year’s election."

2010

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2010

On November 2, 2010, Skees won election to the Montana House of Representatives. Skees defeated Damon Pace and Bill Geisse in the June 8 primary. He faced Will Hammerquist (D) in the November 2 general election.

Montana House of Representatives, District 4 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Derek Skees	51.1%	1,944
	Democratic	Will Hammerquist	48.9%	1,859
Total Votes				3,803

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Derek Skees did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Derek Skees 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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Derek Skees campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	Montana Public Service Commission District 5	Lost primary	$4,217	$0
2020	Montana House of Representatives District 11	Won general	$11,939	N/A**
2018	Montana House of Representatives District 11	Won general	$2,505	N/A**
2016	Montana House of Representatives, District 11	Won	$8,189	N/A**
2014	Montana Public Service Commission District 5	Lost	$9,019	N/A**
2012	Montana Auditor	Lost	$440,328	N/A**
2010	Montana House of Representatives	Won	$18,045	N/A**
** 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.

2022

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.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].
In 2018, the Montana State Legislature did not hold a regular session.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 2 through April 28. Americans for Prosperity Montana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Lewistown Tea Party: 2017 House and Senate scorecard Republican legislators are scored on whether they vote with the Republican Party. 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 Contrators' Association Legislators are scored on their votes on issues pertaining to the interests of the construction industry. Montana Environmental Information Center: 2017 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 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.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Skees and his wife, Ronalee, have three children.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Albert Olszewski (R)	Montana House of Representatives District 11 2017-2023	Succeeded by Tanner Smith (R)
Preceded by -	Montana House of Representatives District 4 2011-2013	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)