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Mark Wicks
Mark Wicks (Republican Party) ran for election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 28. He lost in the Republican primary on June 4, 2024.
Elections
2024
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 28
Eric Albus defeated Blake Borst in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 28 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Eric Albus (R) | 77.1 | 4,118 |
| Blake Borst (D) | 22.9 | 1,225 | ||
| Total votes: 5,343 | |||
 = 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 House of Representatives District 28
Blake Borst advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 28 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Blake Borst | 100.0 | 481 | |
| Total votes: 481 | |||
| = 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 28
Eric Albus defeated Mark Wicks and Wayne Stahl in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 28 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Albus | 40.6 | 1,120 |
 | Mark Wicks | 33.2 | 915 | |
 | Wayne Stahl | 26.2 | 722 | |
| Total votes: 2,757 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Wicks in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Montana Public Service Commission District 1
Randy Pinocci defeated Doug Kaercher in the general election for Montana Public Service Commission District 1 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Randy Pinocci (R) | 59.6 | 44,990 |
| Doug Kaercher (D) | 40.4 | 30,463 | ||
| Total votes: 75,453 | |||
| = 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 Public Service Commission District 1
Doug Kaercher advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 1 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Doug Kaercher | 100.0 | 14,470 | |
| Total votes: 14,470 | |||
| = 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 Public Service Commission District 1
Randy Pinocci defeated Rob Cook, Mark Wicks, and Cory McKinney in the Republican primary for Montana Public Service Commission District 1 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Randy Pinocci | 34.6 | 8,141 |
 | Rob Cook | 30.9 | 7,273 | |
| Mark Wicks | 19.9 | 4,669 | |
| Cory McKinney | 14.6 | 3,433 | ||
| Total votes: 23,516 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2017
Results
| U.S. House, Montana At-Large Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Greg Gianforte |
50% | 190,520 | |
| Democratic | Rob Quist | 44.4% | 169,214 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Wicks | 5.7% | 21,682 | |
| Total Votes | 381,416 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
| U.S. House, Montana At-Large Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Greg Gianforte |
50% | 190,520 | |
| Democratic | Rob Quist | 44.4% | 169,214 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Wicks | 5.7% | 21,682 | |
| Total Votes | 381,416 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
The election was held to replace Ryan Zinke (R), who was confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior on March 1, 2017.[1]
Republican Greg Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks, earning more than 50 percent of the vote. Gianforte was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives on June 21, 2017.[2]
Primary elections were not held in the race. Instead, party leaders chose the nominees at conventions. Democrats selected musician Rob Quist at the party's convention on March 5, 2017, while Republicans nominated businessman Greg Gianforte at the party's convention on March 6, 2017. A third candidate, Libertarian Mark Wicks, was also on the ballot.[3][4][5][6]
Ballotpedia compiled the following resources to help voters better understand the policy positions of the candidates prior to the general election on May 25, 2017:
- An overview of each candidate's career and policy priorities;
- Background information about each candidate's policy positions, campaign themes, and debate performance; and
- The politicians and influencers involved in the race, including those releasing ads and fundraising.
Although Montana's At-Large District seat was held by a Republican continuously from 1997, with former incumbent Ryan Zinke winning election in 2014 and 2016 by roughly 15 points, the race garnered significant national attention and fundraising. In the final week of the election alone, Quist announced that he had received $1 million, bringing his total campaign contributions to $6 million. The pro-Democrat House Majority PAC also spent $125,000 on ad buys for the election's final week. Outside organizations backing Gianforte like the Congressional Leadership Fund have spent $7 million on ad buys—approximately $4 million more than Democratic outside groups.[7][8]
On May 24, 2017, the eve of the election, Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly slammed a reporter to the ground and punched him. The Gianforte campaign refuted the reporter's account in a statement.[9][10]
Candidate overview
Rancher Mark Wicks won the Libertarian Party's nomination at its first-ever state convention in Montana in March 2017.[11] Describing himself during a debate, Wicks said, “I’m the work truck. I’m the guy, when you’re pulled over on the side of the road, and you’re broke down, you want to see that big pickup pull up behind you that has the tow ropes, the chains, the tools – everything to get the job done.”[12]
Wicks identified addressing the nation's debt problem and preserving Social Security as his top priorities on his campaign website.[13] He also listed school choice, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and using conservation easements when public land is sold as other positions he supports.[13] The Second Amendment is a critical policy area for Wicks, who said, "I’m probably the biggest supporter of the Second Amendment there ever has been running for this office. I believe in this case, your right to bear arms is actually more important than the Constitution."[14]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mark Wicks did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
The following issues are listed on Wicks' campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Mark Wicks' campaign website | ||
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump taps Montana congressman Ryan Zinke as interior secretary," December 13, 2016
- ↑ The Billings Gazette, "Gianforte set to take oath as Montana's next congressman," June 15, 2017
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Democrats, Republicans plan for special election to replace Zinke," December 15, 2016
- ↑ KTVH, "Bullock sets soonest possible date for special election," March 1, 2017
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Montana Democrats pick musician Rob Quist to run for U.S. House," March 5, 2017
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Greg Gianforte wins Republican nomination for Montana's U.S. House election," March 6, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Republicans: Montana special election 'closer than it should be,'" May 24, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP, Dems put more money into Montana special election," May 3, 2017
- ↑ KULR, "U.S. House candidate Greg Gianforte charged with misdemeanor assault," May 25, 2017
- ↑ KTVQ, "Greg Gianforte accused of body slamming reporter," May 24, 2017
- ↑ Missoula Independent", "How Mark Wicks wrapped Montana's Libertarians around the axle," May 18, 2017
- ↑ KRTV, "Libertarian Mark Wicks: I'm the 'work truck' candidate for U.S. House," May 16, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wicks for Freedom, "Issues that Matter for Montana," accessed May 18, 2017
- ↑ Montana Public Radio, "Wicks Lays Out Libertarian Positions In U.S. House Debate," May 1, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
