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Jason Small

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Jason Small
Image of Jason Small

Republican Party

Prior offices
Montana State Senate District 21
Personal
Birthplace
Hardin, Mont.
Religion
Boilermaker
Contact

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Jason Small (Republican Party) was a member of the Montana State Senate, representing District 21. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on January 6, 2025.

Small (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 21. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Small completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jason Small was born in Hardin, Montana. He pursued his undergraduate education at Sheridan College and Montana State University, Bozeman. Small's career experience includes working as a boilermaker.[1]

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

Small was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Small was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Small was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

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

Montana committee assignments, 2017
• Business, Labor and Economic Affairs
• Energy and Telecommunications
• Public Health, Welfare and Safety

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

Jason Small did not file to run for re-election.

2020

See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana State Senate District 21

Incumbent Jason Small defeated Rae Peppers in the general election for Montana State Senate District 21 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jason Small
Jason Small (R) Candidate Connection
 
57.8
 
4,023
Image of Rae Peppers
Rae Peppers (D)
 
42.2
 
2,937

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,960
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 21

Rae Peppers advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 21 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Rae Peppers
Rae Peppers
 
100.0
 
1,483

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,483
Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate District 21

Incumbent Jason Small advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 21 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jason Small
Jason Small Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,783

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,783
Candidate Connection = 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 State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Montana State Senate 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 Sharon Stewart-Peregoy (D) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.

Jason Small defeated Carolyn Pease-Lopez in the Montana State Senate District 21 general election.[2][3]

Montana State Senate, District 21 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jason Small 51.49% 3,277
     Democratic Carolyn Pease-Lopez 48.51% 3,087
Total Votes 6,364
Source: Montana Secretary of State


Carolyn Pease-Lopez ran unopposed in the Montana State Senate District 21 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Montana State Senate, District 21 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Carolyn Pease-Lopez  (unopposed)


Jason Small ran unopposed in the Montana State Senate District 21 Republican primary.[6][7]

Montana State Senate, District 21 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jason Small  (unopposed)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jason Small completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Small's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Jason Small is a Republican Senator in Montana and a Northern Cheyenne tribal member who was born and raised in Montana and resides south of Busby on a small ranch with his wife Lacey and raises two young children. 
    Jason graduated from High School in Colstrip Mt and attended MSU Bozeman then received a degree in welding and metallurgy in Sheridan Wyoming and makes a living as a Boilermaker, handyman, and livestock producer.
    Mr. Small, is an advocate for job creation, workforce development, educational opportunity, small business development, sustainable agriculture, responsible resource development, and accountable and effective healthcare solutions.  He has served on Senate Health and Human Services, Energy and Telecommunications (Vice Chair), and Business and Labor Committee during multiple sessions and is currently the chairman of the State Tribal Relations interim committee.  He has been recognized as a leader and has been given many awards such as the Montana Farm Bureau Silver Windmill and Montana Chamber of Commerce  Champion of Business amongst others.
In addition to Senator Small's legislative responsibilities he is the President of Wolf Mountain Search and Rescue and President of Boilermakers Local 11 (Montana).
  • Create and protect Montana jobs.
  • Promote traditional and non traditional educational opportunities.
  • Continue to work on rural healthcare solutions.
Senator Small is extremely engaged in fields related to energy development and has taken every opportunity to advance his personal knowledge on the subject and recently graduated from the Legislative Energy Horizon Institute Energy Policy Planning Program. As the importance of an all above approach to energy development has been adopted he has become very well versed in traditional and non traditional energy production.
    Mr. Small has strived to find solutions in regard to the looming healthcare disparities in rural Montana and has become an advocate for increased mental health resources in remote Montana communities.  His goal is to help people get healthy, mentally and physically so they can become productive and contributing members to their communities.
Lastly Senator Small has been very passionate about finding solutions to the problem of Missing Murdered Indigenous Peoples. His journey into MMIP started years ago prior to the establishment of May 5th as The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls and has helped him write and pass instrumental legislation to help curb the problem. Mr. Small has also been able to give input on and promote an assortment of committee bills which help correct the issues.
We often hear that we need accountability and integrity as well as fairness to be good public officials and I would agree. I also feel there are other attributes which are equally important. Some people are able to see the big picture and others aren't, people often pick the wrong hill to fight from and in the end could have avoided the fight all together by making an accurate assessment of the situation and working with others for the desired outcome. I feel that being diplomatic and pragmatic are also extremely important and can make you an extremely effective leader.
In the end I want people to look at my legislative career and say that he was capable of getting results anywhere they were needed and was willing to hear out problems and work with anyone to come up with the solutions.
My first job was doing a summer work program through the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. It wasn't much of a departure from doing the remedial farm and ranch work that I was doing at home except the fact that I was actually getting a paycheck. I remember the thrill of opening the first first check which was somewhere in the range of $150 dollars a week. In hindsight I don't believe what that would buy nearly 30 years ago. Times have really changed.
Robert Ruark, The Old Man And The Boy is one of my favorite books. I enjoy the reflectiveness of the tales and the tales of hunting and life.
I believe that relationship building is one of the most important aspects of being successful in the legislature. Men and women are often judged by their integrity as a person and people who understand and trust you and accept you as a friend are more likely to lend you a hand and also help mentor and steer you in the appropriate direction. In my experience having good strong relationships with your peers is fundamental to legislative success.
My first committee is Senate Energy and Telecommunications. I have a vested interest in Energy because I have spent most of my life in the energy production industry. I enjoy the dynamics of the market and want to take part in shaping the energy landscape to try and maintain affordability and help stifle volatility in the market.
    Initially I had some reservations about my second committee which is Public Health and Human Services.  I have been a blue collar worker my entire life and initially felt as though I wouldn't have anything to offer in this area.  I feel in hindsight that I was definitely wrong.  I am able to bring a different perspective to the table than many of my colleagues and have been able to advance healthcare in some of the most rural areas of the state.

    Committee number three is Business and Labor.  This committee is great. Most of the week during session you have the opportunity to shape the landscape for Montana workers and industry.  The topics are vast and often complicated and require tons of studying to make clear informed decisions. Any given day of the week we are listening to subjects which could range from insurance underwriting to redistricting project labor zones.
Lastly is State and Tribal Relations. I have been honored to serve as the chairman of this committee. You cannot imagine the complexity of navigating the jurisdiction of boundaries between the state and what are effectively sovereign areas which reside within them. It has been a phenomenal experience fixing issues and bridging gaps between Montana's reservations and the state government.
I have found that you often make extremely tough decisions while holding office and have had many sleepless nights running scenarios through my head. I feel that representing your constituent base is of the foremost importance and takes first precedence over what could be construed to be a minor ideological road block. I tackled a piece of immense legislation that was definitely not looked upon as favorable by many members of my party but was an absolute necessity for my constituent base as well as the health and well being of my family. After months of great trepidation the day finally came when it passed and I was finally able to breath a sigh of relief. I had gone back to my apartment that evening and was sitting in a comfortable chair which had become my home away from home for the past several months and my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number but I answered it and was greeted by a person I hadn't seen since childhood. This gentleman was very advanced in years at this point and he told me "thank you kid, I can't believe you pulled it off if you hadn't passed medicaid expansion I would have lost everything." It was at this point I knew I had done the right thing and maybe the most memorable and impactful thing I will ever accomplish.

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.

Jason Small campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020Montana State Senate District 21Won general$10,817 N/A**
2016Montana State Senate, District 21Won $4,780 N/A**
Grand total$15,597 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 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


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017






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External links

Candidate

Montana State Senate District 21
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 22, 2020
    2. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed August 22, 2016
    3. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Legislative General Election Canvass," accessed December 21, 2016
    4. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
    5. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016
    6. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
    7. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Montana State Senate District 21
    2017-2025    		 Succeeded by
    -


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