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Scott DeMarois

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Scott DeMarois
Image of Scott DeMarois

Democratic Party

Montana House of Representatives District 71
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Compensation

Base salary

$128.86/legislative day

Per diem

$206/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Anaconda High School

Personal
Birthplace
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Mont.
Religion
Non-practicing Catholic
Profession
Retired
Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Scott DeMarois (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 71. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

DeMarois (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 71. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Biography

Scott DeMarois was born in Anaconda, Montana. He graduated from Anaconda High School. He attended Montana Tech. His career experience includes working as a firefighter retiring as a Captain. He has been affiliated with the Montana State Council of Professional Fire Fighters and the Montana State Fire Fighters Association.[1]

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.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

DeMarois was assigned to the following committees:


Elections

2024

See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Montana House of Representatives District 71

Scott DeMarois defeated H Steiger in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 71 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Scott DeMarois
Scott DeMarois (D) Candidate Connection
 
61.8
 
3,375
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
H Steiger (R)
 
38.2
 
2,083

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

Total votes: 5,458
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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 71

Scott DeMarois advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 71 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Scott DeMarois
Scott DeMarois Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,881

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

Total votes: 1,881
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 71

H Steiger advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 71 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
H Steiger
 
100.0
 
1,138

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

Total votes: 1,138
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 DeMarois in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Hi there! Thanks for taking a minute to learn about your candidates, it’s so important that you understand who we are. I am a Montanan… even better an Anacondan! I was born and raised in Anaconda. A son of a Union pipefitter/correctional officer and a small business owner. I was educated in Anaconda Public Schools and Graduated from Anaconda High in 1990. I attended college at Montana Tech and studied chemistry. To pay for this education, I worked for the Department of State Lands (now the DNRC) and the Forest Service as a wildland fire fighter. I figured out quickly that I would not be happy in a lab and therefore applied and was hired on the Anaconda Fire Department in 1995. I recently retired after almost 29 years of service to the community of Anaconda, and I loved each moment I had helping her residents. I promoted to the rank of Captain and retired at this position. Community service is in my DNA and I’m the happiest when I’m helping others. I have an amazing family, my wife Melani, my sons Jay and Quinn and my daughters Tommi, Cara and Madison make up our clan. Melani and I blended our families in 2010 and it's been a fantastic 14 years. It’s truly their support and love that has allowed me to run for this Legislative office. I am community oriented and love where I’m from, I’m honored to have an opportunity to represent Anaconda Deer Lodge and Silver Bow Counties.
  • Quality of Life: Everyone should have decent affordable healthcare including robust mental health access. People should have the ability to go to work and have a dignified wage appropriate to the times we live in, have workplace protections that enable the employee to have a safe and respectful work environment and have the right to a well well-funded retirement. Montanans need to feel safety, safety in schools, in their homes, on their streets and most importantly in their body.
  • Protect Freedoms: Montana is wide and diverse state, a state that has always prided itself on toughness, honesty and diversity. We need to continue this acceptance of individuality and protect those who are different from ourselves. We are independent and have always had choice in our decisions, thus, we do not need government involving itself in personal matters. We require the freedom to enjoy Montana’s incredible beauty without locked gates or barriers to public lands. We require the freedom to have safe and responsible gun ownership. Finally, we require the freedom from unfair tax burden passed on from those who do not live or work in our great state.
  • Montana for Montanans: I would like to see Montana a place where our children can live, work and be prosperous. We need to keep our most valuable resource – our children, here in Montana and allow them to be successful. I will find solutions to affordable housing and better wages. We need a Montana for Montanans -not an out of state ran government with those interests at the helm. A Montana with Montanan values placing the human driving the tractor, growing our food, protecting our streets, taking care of our sick or serving our food as the primary focus instead of powerful lobbies of people that only want to create a playground of affluence.
The areas of public policy I am particularly passionate about are: taxes, economic growth, labor relations, and healthcare.
So many people in my life have lived by example, they have walked their talk and taught me the same.
There is not one example of a work of art that defines my philosophy, but some of my philosophies are built on the takeaways I’ve read or watched about. It could start with “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Andrew Carnegie. It could be “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It could be “In Dubious Battle” by John Steinbeck. It’s what we cannot become in the likes of “1984” by George Orwell or “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. It’s the passion of the fight from “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. It’s asking questions and trying to understand perspectives from “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times” by Mónica Guzmán. It’s feeling how the immigrants were taken advantage of and why there is need of regulation of the greedy in “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair. It’s learning to be happy and empathetic in “The Art of Happiness” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is having wonderful role models in my life that have taught hard work or dedication to friends and family. It’s amazing teachers that taught me to have critical thought and not be afraid of books or of learning. It’s a Union that taught me we need rights from unscrupulous employers that only look to increase profit, hold us underwater and brain wash us to think that OUR time, OUR sweat and OUR labor is the problem. I do not have one source; I am a man of many and I will continue to be that for the humans that are here.
I believe transparency, integrity and the willingness to work for our constituents is paramount. It is important that we listen and learn about this great state and how life affects a person's truth and their passions. We can not know everything, but if we start from a place of question and not of judgement, we can learn so much about perspectives and those things that people hold dear. This allows us to create law or policy that enriches lives and not suppresses it.
I have the ability to listen to people with empathy and I often see the other side of the story very quickly.
The core responsibilities of our Legislature is upholding the Montana Constitution creating direction for the betterment of the citizens. We must create a fair tax and appropriately distribute these monies to our agencies to effectively manage the state. We must be willing to work with other representatives from different and diverse walks of life to build an atmosphere of unity and not of division. We must fully fund public education, so educators have the ability to teach in safe, effective, technologically sound environments. Doing this, will offer a place for the best chances for our youth to learn and succeed.
My hope is that I'm known for kindness and wanting to help people get a head in life.
I remember walking out of the Washoe Theater the evening that Mt. St. Helens erupted. The ash was thick like snow, it was so curious to see 4-5 inches of ash on the vehicles and sidewalks. My dad was frustrated with my sister and I because we were kicking ash with our feet, he was worried about our lungs. I was 8 years old.
My first job was delivering papers for the Anaconda Leader, it was route 3 and I had 72 people to deliver to. A fun fact, I live in one of the houses on that paper route.
For Whom the Bells Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.
Harry Potter! I absolutely loved those books and movies, the fantastical world of wizardry would be cool!
Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls.
Keeping hope that humanity can prevail and we start treating each other with respect.
I believe the ideal relationship between the Governor and State Legislature is that they work together away from party lines to achieve goals that benefit the citizens of Montana. The Legislature is the refined voice of the voter and needs to have a place in the Governors agenda. The Governor should want to work with the Legislature to craft policy that allows the government to work for its citizens.
I believe affordable housing, taxes, use of public lands and wage equality will be our biggest issues.
In my opinion experience can be beneficial but I believe a willingness to learn is more important than previous experience. Some of the greatest leaders we have had are people that started at the State Legislature, but conversely, that person with the "experience" but unable to learn or adapt because of their history does nothing but hurt the process.
I absolutely believe it's beneficial to build relationships with other legislators. In the House there are 100 of us, nothing can be accomplished by ourselves. It's the Union of Legislators that collectively make good decision for the whole of the state.
A significant role model for me growing up and watching perform in the legislature is my 6th grade math teacher - William "Red" Menahan. He sat in the same district I am running for today and taught me many things. Aside from Math, he was a true statesman, whom was able to make friends all over the state and across the isle. He was a fierce protector of Anaconda, her citizens and the workforce. I always appreciated his work in school, in the Legislature and finally as my next door neighbor.
It is way to early to define any thought of future offices. I want to be wholly focused on this seat and doing good things for my community.
I heard from a young man how having the support of programs that were instituted by President Obama changed his life, allowed him to go to college and be successful.
Why do firefighters wear red suspenders? To hold their pants up. A total dad joke, but the little kids used to love it when they would come by the station for tours. My favorite part of the job.
To be fair, I don't completely understand this question but if the Governor is executing MCA 10-3-104 in a state of emergency then I think the law is clear and concise. The MCA quoted states that the Legislature intends to allow the Governor to act in the moment of an emergency. Later in the law it states that "The governor may not suspend a statute that affects the exercise of an individual's constitutional rights under the United States constitution or the Montana constitution, including 13-19-104(3), even if the statute is otherwise considered a regulatory statute prescribing the procedures for conduct of state business." Therefore, it's a limited rule and has legislative oversight. I do believe the three branches of government should oversee and protect the constitution.
I have been asked to co-sponsor a bill protecting fire fighters from the hazardous PFAS chemicals found in fire fighting foam and turnout gear. These forever chemicals have been linked to many types of cancer.
MFPE, Montana AFL-CIO, Montana State Council of Professional Fire Fighters, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, International Association of Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 96 Butte Professional Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 100 Anaconda Professional Fire Fighers.
Committees that interest me are Taxation, Appropriations, Buisness and Labor, Human Services, Natural Resources, State Administration and Local Government.
I believe the reason there is a large segment of the population that has a distrust of government is because of the lack of transparency. We must be as transparent as possible and remove the restrictions to information. How can we expect people to pay taxes and use their hard earned money to fund governmental programs if we have no accountability. Accountability to the tax payer is at the head of transparency.
I would need to research this question to provide an insightful answer. I have not been personally involved with the process.

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.

Scott DeMarois campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Montana House of Representatives District 71Won general$6,781 $0
Grand total$6,781 $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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Candidate

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		Montana House of Representatives District 71
    2025-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -


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