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Peter Strand (Montana)

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Peter Strand
Image of Peter Strand

Democratic Party

Montana House of Representatives District 63
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Compensation

Base salary

$104.86/legislative day

Per diem

$171/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Occidental College, 1987

Graduate

Lesley University, 1993

Personal
Birthplace
San Francisco, Calif.
Profession
Teacher
Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Peter Strand (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 63. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Strand (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 63. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Strand completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Peter Strand was born in San Francisco, California. Strand's professional experience includes working as a teacher. He earned a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in 1987 and a graduate degree from Lesley University in 1993.[1]

Strand has been affiliated with Bozeman Public Schools and the Montana Federation of Public Employees.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 63

Peter Strand defeated Mark Lewis in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 63 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Peter Strand
Peter Strand (D) Candidate Connection
 
53.4
 
3,255
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mark Lewis (R)
 
46.6
 
2,838

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

Total votes: 6,093
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 House of Representatives District 63

Peter Strand defeated John Hansen in the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 63 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Peter Strand
Peter Strand Candidate Connection
 
79.2
 
818
Image of John Hansen
John Hansen Candidate Connection
 
20.8
 
215

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

Total votes: 1,033
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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 63

Mark Lewis defeated Joe Flynn in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 63 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Mark Lewis
 
66.9
 
534
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Joe Flynn
 
33.1
 
264

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

Total votes: 798
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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Strand in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Peter Strand completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Strand's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I'm a teacher, a parent, a public servant. I've served children and families in Bozeman for nearly three decades, and I'm ready to serve the community in the Montana legislature.
  • We must respond to the needs of regular Montanans...rather than the wealthy elite. This means worker protections, respect for public lands, access to meaningful public services, and access to affordable living.
  • We must step up with robust support for public schools. Only with meaningful support for our schools will we prepare Montana for a meaningful future.
  • Costs. The cost of living here is skyrocketing. We must put our heads together to do something about it. Spiking our property taxes doesn't help. Empowering Northwest Energy to do what it wants doesn't help. Avoiding the hard questions about affordable housing doesn't help. We must take on related challenges with seriousness.
Education, Worker Protections, Energy, Housing, Environment, Healthcare
Thomas Meagher was the first governor of Montana. He was dedicated, brave, and always ready to do the hard work and take the big risks inherent to making the world a fairer, healthier, happier place.
Common sense, civility, commitment to the common good.
I'm an experienced and effective communicator, whether interacting with one person or speaking to a crowd. I have a long history of being persuasive, creative, ambitious, and hard-working. I also have lots of experience working collaboratively and as a team member when considering and problem-solving around challenging social issues.
Genuinely representing and communicating with constituents, advocating for the common good, treating colleagues and the office with respect.
I would like to be remembered as productive, collaborative, and creative. More importantly, I'd like to be remembered as someone who worked tirelessly and successfully for the common good.
I delivered newspapers by bike, and I had this job for two years.
I have far too many favorites to answer this question so simply. One that fits well here though: Timothy Egan's The Immortal Irishman.
Dealing with people who obstruct what we can accomplish because they have little interest in achieving anything more than serving their own self-interests.
The legislature develops laws that guide Montana to become the best version of itself. The governor inspires, proposes, and occasionally vetoes policy. The governor works politely, sensibly, and productively with legislators and bureaucrats.
1. Ensuring that Montanans, all of them, get the education necessary to propel us into a meaningful future.

2. Ensuring that the natural landscape, essential to Montana's identity, remains protected, vibrant, secure.

3. Ensuring that all Montanans have opportunities to thrive. This means access to reasonably priced housing. This means access to stable public services, when needed. This means access to water.
Not necessarily, but they should have experience that would help them to be successful contributors within the legislative context. My background isn't politics per se, but teachers deal with a range of challenges that prepare them well for the legislative context.
Building relationships with other legislators is critical to any kind of success. A legislator isn't one vote, after all. A legislator works within a community to solve problems and make things happen. If you sit in the corner, on your own, you can't get anything done.
Franke Wilmer and Dorothy Bradley
no
I've heard many such stories while walking the streets. The most striking one to me was from a couple who described arriving in Bozeman in 1956 and the path they've led since. Their stories about change in the valley offer real perspective when considering all the challenges we face today.
If emergency powers are ever necessary, the legislature should most certainly oversee and grant them. The legislature should serve as the check on potential abuse.
Without the give and take of listening and articulating, learning and persuading, there is no meaningful legislating. While there are various bottom-line stances that I will not waver on, problem-solving as a group requires negotiation and compromise.
I would introduce a bill that applies cost-of-living adjustments when considering how much money should follow students to schools. Students in Bozeman should bring more money, for example, than students in Sidney. Housing costs alone are not comparable, and we need teachers everywhere.

Education, Business and Labor, Human Services, Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Energy

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.

Peter Strand campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Montana House of Representatives District 63Won general$30,014 $0
Grand total$30,014 $0
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

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.














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External links

Candidate

Montana House of Representatives District 63
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    Officeholder

    Montana House of Representatives District 63
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 23, 2023

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Montana House of Representatives District 63
    2025-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -


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