Joe Read

Joe Read

Republican Party

Prior offices

Montana House of Representatives District 15

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Montana House of Representatives District 93

Predecessor: John Fleming

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Contact

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Joe Read (Republican Party) was a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 93. He assumed office on January 7, 2019. He left office on January 6, 2025.

Read (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 91. He was disqualified from the general election scheduled on November 5, 2024.

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

Read was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee

2021-2022

Read was assigned to the following committees:

• Appropriations Committee

2019-2020

Read was assigned to the following committees:

• Natural Resources and Transportation Committee
• Appropriations Committee

2011-2012

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

• Agriculture
• Human Services
• Judiciary

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 House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 91

Shelly Fyant defeated David Passieri in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 91 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Fyant (D)	54.2	3,249
	Submit photo	David Passieri (R)	45.8	2,745

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,994
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joe Read (R)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 91

Shelly Fyant advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 91 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelly Fyant	100.0	1,270

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,270
= 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 91

Incumbent Joe Read advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 91 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read	100.0	1,260

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,260
= 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

• Charles Headley (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Read in this election.

Pledges

Read signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 93

Incumbent Joe Read defeated Shirley Azzopardi and Devin Braaten in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read (R)	57.1	2,419
	Submit photo	Shirley Azzopardi (D)	39.3	1,664
		Devin Braaten (L)	3.7	155

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,238
= 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 93

Shirley Azzopardi advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Shirley Azzopardi	100.0	640

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 640
= 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 93

Incumbent Joe Read advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read	100.0	1,504

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,504
= 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.

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Devin Braaten advanced from the Libertarian primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93.

2020

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 93

Incumbent Joe Read defeated Lisa Pavlock in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read (R)	56.6	2,974
		Lisa Pavlock (D)	43.4	2,279

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,253
= 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 93

Lisa Pavlock advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lisa Pavlock	100.0	1,112

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,112
= 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 93

Incumbent Joe Read defeated Ralph Foster in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read	69.0	1,175
	Submit photo	Ralph Foster	31.0	528

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,703
= 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

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 93

Joe Read defeated Eldena Bear Don't Walk in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read (R)	55.9	2,421
		Eldena Bear Don't Walk (D)	44.1	1,912

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,333
= 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 93

Eldena Bear Don't Walk defeated Steve York in the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eldena Bear Don't Walk	52.1	436
	Submit photo	Steve York	47.9	401

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 837
= 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 93

Joe Read advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 93 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Read	100.0	1,245

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,245
= 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 House of Representatives elections, 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. George Kipp III defeated Eldena Bear Don't Walk in the Democratic primary. Joe Read ran as a Constitutional candidate. Kipp defeated Read in the general election. Incumbent Frosty Calf Boss Ribs (D) did not seek re-election.

Montana House of Representatives, District 15 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	George Kipp III	57.4%	1,043
	Constitution	Joe Read	42.6%	775
Total Votes				1,818

Montana House of Representatives, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
George Kipp III	57.4%	308
Eldena Bear Don't Walk	42.6%	229
Total Votes		537

2012

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2012

Read ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Montana House of Representatives, District 15. Read ran unopposed in the June 5 primary election and was defeated by Frosty Calf Boss Ribs (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Montana House of Representatives, District 15, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frosty Calf Boss Ribs	57.7%	1,969
	Republican	Joe Read Incumbent	42.3%	1,446
Total Votes				3,415

2010

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2010

On November 2, 2010, Read won election to the Montana House of Representatives. Read did not have any opposition in the June 8 primary. He faced incumbent Frosty Calf Boss Ribs (D) in the November 2 general election.

Montana House of Representatives, District 15 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Joe Read (R)		1,180
Frosty Calf Boss Ribs (D)		1,108

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joe Read did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Joe Read did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Joe Read 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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Joe Read campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Montana House of Representatives District 91	Disqualified general	$40	$0
2022	Montana House of Representatives District 93	Won general	$3,745	$0
2020	Montana House of Representatives District 93	Won general	$4,122	N/A**
2018	Montana House of Representatives District 93	Won general	$3,410	N/A**
Grand total			$11,317	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.

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.

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by John Fleming (D)	Montana House of Representatives District 93 2019-2025	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Montana House of Representatives District 15 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)