John Esp
John Esp (Republican Party) is a member of the Montana State Senate, representing District 29. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Esp (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 30. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
John Esp was born in Big Timber, Montana. He earned a bachelor's degree from Montana State University.[1]
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Esp was assigned to the following committees:
- Education and Cultural Resources Committee
- Finance and Claims Committee, Vice Chair
- Highways and Transportation Committee
2023-2024
Esp was assigned to the following committees:
- Committee on Committees
- Finance and Claims Committee, Chair
- Senate Legislative Administration Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
2021-2022
Esp was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Ethics Committee, Chair
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Local Government Committee, Vice Chair
2019-2020
Esp was assigned to the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Esp served on these committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Esp served on these committees:
- Committee on Committees, Montana Senate
- Education and Cultural Resources Committee, Montana Senate
- Finance and Claims Committee, Montana Senate
- Judiciary Committee, Montana Senate
- Local Government Committee, Montana Senate
- Rules Committee, Montana Senate
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
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 30
Incumbent John Esp defeated Jamie Isaly in the general election for Montana State Senate District 30 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John Esp (R) | 55.3 | 6,041 |
 | Jamie Isaly (D) | 44.7 | 4,879 | |
| Total votes: 10,920 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 30
Jamie Isaly advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 30 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jamie Isaly | 100.0 | 1,971 |
| Total votes: 1,971 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 30
Incumbent John Esp advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 30 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Esp | 100.0 | 3,559 |
| Total votes: 3,559 | |||
| = 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 State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 30
John Esp defeated Dan Vermillion and Frank McLain in the general election for Montana State Senate District 30 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Esp (R) | 53.2 | 6,254 |
| Dan Vermillion (D) | 44.3 | 5,214 | ||
| Frank McLain (L) | 2.5 | 296 | ||
| Total votes: 11,764 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mark Lighthiser (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 30
Dan Vermillion advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 30 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dan Vermillion | 100.0 | 2,464 | |
| Total votes: 2,464 | |||
| = 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 State Senate District 30
John Esp advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 30 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Esp | 100.0 | 3,483 |
| Total votes: 3,483 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Esp won election to the Montana House of Representatives. Esp defeated incumbent Joel Boniek in the June 8 primary to House district 61 by a margin of 1,512-1,347. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
2006
On November 7, 2006, Esp won re-election to the 31st District Seat in the Montana State Senate, defeating Clay McDonald (D).[2]
| Montana State Senate, District 31 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 John Esp (R)
|
5,031 | |||
| Clay McDonald (D) | 3,535 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Esp did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Montana State Legislature in 2025.
- Americans for Prosperity - Montana — 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 AFL-CIO — Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
- Montana Audubon — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Montana Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Montana Conservative Index — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Montana Federation of Public Employees — Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
- The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2024, the Montana State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Montana State Legislature in 2023.
- Forward Montana — Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
- Montana AFL-CIO — Legislators are scored on their votes on labor 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 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.
- 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.
In 2022, the Montana State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Montana State Legislature in 2021.
- 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 AFL-CIO — Legislators are scored on their votes on labor 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 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.
- Montanans for Limited Government — Legislators are scored on their votes on a variety of issues of interest to the organization.
- Montana Sportsmen Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by 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.
In 2020, the Montana State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Montana State Legislature in 2019.
- Americans for Prosperity - Montana — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Montana AFL-CIO — Legislators are scored on their votes on labor 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 — 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.
- 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.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana State Senate District 29 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Nels Swandal (R) |
Montana State Senate District 30 2019-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 61 2011-2013 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Montana State Senate District 31 2003-2011 |
Succeeded by - |
