Douglas Kary
Doug Kary (Republican Party) was a member of the Montana State Senate, representing District 22. He assumed office on January 5, 2015. He left office on January 2, 2023.
Kary (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 22. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Kary completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.
Kary served in the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 48 from 2011 to 2015.
Biography
Kary earned his associate degree in business administration from Minot State University in 1985. His professional experience includes working as a graphic consultant at Selby's and as a marketing representative at Montana-Dakota Utilities.
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
Kary was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Telecommunications Committee
- Finance and Claims Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Senate State Administration Committee, Chair
2019-2020
Kary was assigned to the following committees:
- General Government Committee
- Energy and Telecommunications Committee
- Senate Rules Committee
- Finance and Claims Committee
- Senate State Administration Committee, Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Montana committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Energy and Telecommunications |
| • Finance and Claims |
| • State Administration, Vice chair |
| • Natural Resources and Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kary served on the following committees:
| Montana committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation |
| • Business, Labor and Economic Affairs |
| • Education and Cultural Resources |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Kary served on the following committees:
| Montana committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications |
| • Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Vice Chair |
| • State Administration |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kary served on the following committees:
| Montana committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications |
| • Fish, Wildlife, and Parks |
| • State Administration |
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 State Senate elections, 2022
Douglas Kary was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2018
- See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 22
Incumbent Doug Kary defeated Jennifer Merecki in the general election for Montana State Senate District 22 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Doug Kary (R)  | 60.5 | 5,120 |
| Jennifer Merecki (D) | 39.5 | 3,349 | ||
| Total votes: 8,469 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 22
Jennifer Merecki defeated David Graves in the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 22 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jennifer Merecki | 72.2 | 1,176 | |
| David Graves | 27.8 | 452 | ||
| Total votes: 1,628 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 22
Incumbent Doug Kary advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 22 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Kary | 100.0 | 2,648 |
| Total votes: 2,648 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
- See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Montana State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for major party candidates wishing to run in this election was March 10, 2014; minor party and independent candidates had until June 2, 2014, to file. Steven Fugate was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Doug Kary was unopposed in the Republican primary. Kary defeated Fugate in the general election. Incumbent Taylor Brown (R), who was not up for re-election, was reassigned to District 28 by redistricting.[1][2]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Doug Kary |
64.3% | 4,106 | |
| Democratic | Steven Fugate | 35.7% | 2,280 | |
| Total Votes | 6,386 | |||
2012
Kary won re-election in the 2012 election for Montana House of Representatives, District 48. Kary ran unopposed in the June 5 primary election and defeated Rita Wells (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Douglas Kary Incumbent |
58.8% | 2,454 | |
| Democratic | Rita Wells | 41.2% | 1,722 | |
| Total Votes | 4,176 | |||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Kary won election to the Montana House of Representatives. He faced incumbent Wanda Grinde (D) in the November 2 general election.[5][6]
| Montana House of Representatives, District 48 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Douglas Kary (R)
|
1,735 | |||
| Wanda Grinde (D) | 1,300 | |||
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Doug Kary participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on May 7, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Doug Kary's responses follow below.[7]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Fair tax base (lower property tax and fair income taxes)
Making State Government as efficient as possible |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Transparency in State Government: All citizens should be able to see where their tax dollars are spent and for what. We currently have somewhat of an online checkbook, but it lacks in so many ways.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[9]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Doug Kary answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow and why?
| “ | Ronald Reagan is a man I do look up to. He was such a great speaker and communicator.[9] | ” |
| “ | "The Five Thousand Year Leap"[9] | ” |
| “ | The ability to "listen" and hear what is being said.
The ability to feel others passion in their beliefs. The ability to convey ones own convictions while accepting others.[9] |
” |
| “ | Enough life experiences to have knowledge, enough wisdom to know I don't know it all and the ability to always learn.[9] | ” |
| “ | To always vote my conscience first, my constituents second and last my party's wants.[9] | ” |
| “ | That I would always take the time to listen and never make someone feel they were less than another. That there is always room to laugh at ones self![9] | ” |
| “ | Eisenhower's re-election in 1956 ( I was five).[9] | ” |
| “ | First job was farm labor. Tending cattle, working summer fallow, hauling hay and stacking, harvesting (driving swathers, combining, and hauling grain). Summer work while going to school.[9] | ” |
| “ | Being asked to the prom by an individual I did not really want to go with, told here how it was but she insisted, so we went, danced and I took her home around 10 pm.[9] | ” |
| “ | Favorite Holiday would be Easter. Celebrating our Savior's triumph over death and giving us hope for eternal life.[9] | ” |
| “ | Any History book: lessons from the past will teach us how to move forward.[9] | ” |
| “ | Roy Rogers, Nice guy, got his girl, great horse and always rode off into .... Happy Trails to you![9] | ” |
| “ | My Spouse! I can download on her and she always seems to come up smiling, My true love! and soulmate.[9] | ” |
| “ | "House of the rising sun"[9] | ” |
| “ | Keeping my mouth shut, and having patience.[9] | ” |
| “ | No, it's much better to view government from outside looking in.[9] | ” |
| “ | An aging population along with a declining workforce, that will be faced with higher taxes to provide for repairs etc. on an aging infrastructure.[9] | ” |
| “ | Checks and Balance. The Legislature writes the laws and furnishes a balanced budget, while the Governor abides by those and directs the departments under their control to fulfill those wishes while shaping the state into the Best it can be.[9] | ” |
| “ | Relationships are made, trust is formed and from this comes the ability to bounce ideas off and get an honest answer and someone who will work with you on what is deemed a common goal.[9] | ” |
| “ | It will always be political, whoever appoints has the power to shape.[9] | ” |
| “ | Fiance & Claims: Seeing where our money is being spent (and why)
Energy: The dynamics of how energy moves and how important it is to all of us. State Administration: Keeping our elections fair, working with pensions for our State employees, and making sure our Veterans are recognized and taken care.[9] |
” |
| “ | I would as possible a Whip, but feel comfortable working behind the scenes.[9] | ” |
| “ | None[9] | ” |
| “ | NO[9] | ” |
2012
Kary's website highlighted the following campaign issues:[10]
Protecting Taxpayers: Montana is facing out-of-control spending and with declining revenues, some are looking for tax increases. You can count on Doug Kary to oppose all attempts to raise taxes or fees on Montana families.
Controlling Spending: Over the past five years Montana government spending has increased by 50% and there are roughly 1,000 new employees in our state government. Doug Kary knows that we must be more accountable to the Taxpayer. The mean wage in Montana is around $23,000. I find it difficult to believe, the fact that out of the 12,000 employees in our state government, 780 make over $100,000 per year and an additional 450 employees make between $90,000 – $100,0000.
Jobs: In order for Montana to compete we must make drastic changes to the way we do business. Doug Kary supports developing our natural resources, oil, natural gas, coal, and other minerals which will create high paying jobs. This in turn will provide revenues for education and other essential services. We must also look at developing alternate energy sources like wind, geothermal, bio-fuels and solar.
Education: Doug Kary understands the need for quality education for our children and grandchildren! We need to provide schools with resources so that they can produce better results within our education system. Montana and our local School Districts need to focus on getting more dollars to the classroom, cut down on the bureaucracy and make sure that we have the best quality teachers working hard to educate our children for the future.
Our Great Outdoors: Growing up hunting, fishing and just getting outdoors to recreate, Doug supports hunting in Montana as it is our heritage. Doug believes that veteran hunters and avid anglers should be on the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission so the interest of sportsmen and women are truly represented. Doug has been a long-time member of the NRA and will support and defend our 2nd Amendment rights against any issues that will restrict or limit the use of firearms.
Conservation: We must all live within our means. Doug believes in saving resources. All resources whether they are natural or man-made, must be utilized to their fullest extent. Human resources need to be used to their fullest extent; we cannot afford to duplicate government services in any way, shape or form.
Issues
State bank
In February 2013, Kary introduced House Bill 474, which would create a state-run bank called the Montana Resources Bank. He told the Business & Labor Committee that the bank would "provide the banking services for the state, and use public funds to partner with local banks to assist in local community economic development activities." The Montana Bankers Association countered that existing government entities such as the Board of Investments already served similar functions.[11] The bill was tabled in the Business and Labor Committee and not picked up again before the end of the 2013 session.[12]
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.
Scorecards
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]. |
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In 2021, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 29.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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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]. |
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In 2019, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 7 through April 25.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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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]. |
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In 2017, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 2 through April 28.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Montana State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 5 through April 28.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Montana State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 7 to April 27.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Montana State Legislature did not hold a regular session. |
See also
- Montana State Legislature
- Montana State Senate
- Montana Senate Committees
- Montana Joint Committees
- Montana state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2014 Statewide Primary Election Canvass," accessed June 30, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2012 Legislative General Election Canvass," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2012 Legislative Primary Election Canvass," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Legislative Primary Canvass - June 08, 2010," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2010 Legislative General Election Canvass," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Doug Kary's responses," May 7, 2018
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 9.25 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Elect Doug Kary, "Issues," accessed October 16, 2012
- ↑ KXLH, "Montana legislators discuss creation of state-run bank," February 19, 2013
- ↑ LegiScan, "MT HB474 | 2013 | Regular Session," accessed July 25, 2013
- ↑ Montana Contractors' Association, "Stronger Together: Political Representation," accessed November 5, 2015
- ↑ Montana Weed Control Association, "2013 Legislative Report & Scorecard," accessed September 17, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana State Senate District 22 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Daniel Zolnikov (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 48 2011-2015 |
Succeeded by - |
