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Jessica Karjala
Jessica Karjala (Democratic Party) was a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 48. She assumed office on January 5, 2015. She left office on January 2, 2023.
Karjala (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 48. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
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
Karjala was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Karjala 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 |
|---|
| • Human Services, Vice chair |
| • Local Government |
| • State Administration |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Karjala served on the following committees:
| Montana committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Human Services |
| • 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
Jessica Karjala was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.
2020
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 48
Incumbent Jessica Karjala defeated Leigh Verrill-Rhys in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jessica Karjala (D) | 52.8 | 2,697 |
| Leigh Verrill-Rhys (R) | 47.2 | 2,415 | ||
| Total votes: 5,112 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 48
Incumbent Jessica Karjala advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessica Karjala | 100.0 | 1,522 |
| Total votes: 1,522 | |||
| = 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 48
Leigh Verrill-Rhys advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Leigh Verrill-Rhys | 100.0 | 1,351 | |
| Total votes: 1,351 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 48
Incumbent Jessica Karjala defeated Denise Johnson in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessica Karjala (D) | 54.3 | 2,465 |
| Denise Johnson (R) | 45.7 | 2,072 | ||
| Total votes: 4,537 | |||
| = 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 48
Incumbent Jessica Karjala advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jessica Karjala | 100.0 | 1,240 |
| Total votes: 1,240 | |||
| = 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 48
Denise Johnson advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 48 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Denise Johnson | 100.0 | 1,228 | |
| Total votes: 1,228 | |||
| = 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
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 Jessica Karjala defeated Robert Saunders in the Montana House of Representatives District 48 general election.[1][2]
| Montana House of Representatives, District 48 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Jessica Karjala Incumbent |
55.12% | 2,551 | |
| Republican | Robert Saunders | 44.88% | 2,077 | |
| Total Votes | 4,628 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Jessica Karjala ran unopposed in the Montana House of Representatives District 48 Democratic primary.[3][4]
| Montana House of Representatives, District 48 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jessica Karjala Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Robert Saunders ran unopposed in the Montana House of Representatives District 48 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Montana House of Representatives, District 48 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Robert Saunders (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Montana House of Representatives 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 candidates wishing to run in this election was March 10, 2014; minor party and independent candidates had until June 2, 2014, to file. Jessica Karjala was unopposed in the Democratic primary. District 50 incumbent Dennis Lenz was unopposed in the Republican primary. Karjala defeated Lenz in the general election. Incumbent Douglas Kary (R) ran for District 22 of the Montana State Senate.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jessica Karjala |
52.3% | 1,889 | |
| Republican | Dennis Lenz Incumbent | 47.7% | 1,720 | |
| Total Votes | 3,609 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jessica Karjala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
See also
2020 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Montana House of Representatives District 48 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Legislative General Election Canvass," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016
- ↑ 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
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 48 2015-2023 |
Succeeded by Jodee Etchart (R) |
