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Karen Lyncoln
Karen Lyncoln (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 26. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Lyncoln completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Karen Lyncoln was born in Woodland, California. She attended the University of California, Davis, and earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, San Francisco, in 1970. Her career includes working as a city planner, facility planner, and public involvement specialist.[1]
Lyncoln has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
- Yellowstone Task Force on Human Trafficking
- Yellowstone County Democrats
- Indivisible
- National Organization for Women
Elections
2024
See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 26
Incumbent Tom McGillvray defeated Karen Lyncoln in the general election for Montana State Senate District 26 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom McGillvray (R) | 63.9 | 7,696 |
Karen Lyncoln (D)  | 36.1 | 4,347 | ||
| Total votes: 12,043 | |||
| = 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 State Senate District 26
Karen Lyncoln advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 26 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Lyncoln | 100.0 | 1,793 | |
| Total votes: 1,793 | |||
| = 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 26
Incumbent Tom McGillvray advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 26 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom McGillvray | 100.0 | 3,921 |
| Total votes: 3,921 | |||
| = 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 Lyncoln in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Karen Lyncoln completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lyncoln's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Threats to Democracy. I am deeply committed to maintaining our democracy, and that’s what spurred me to run for office against an unopposed candidate. Democracy depends on at least two parties representing different beliefs and opinions. I am horrified by the bills passed by the 2023 Republican super majority legislature, and I want to give residents of Senate District 26 a choice!
- Property Tax. The 2023 Legislature transferred the burden of property tax directly onto home owners, reducing the burden on corporations. The Montana Budget & Policy Center estimates that residential property tax shifted from 38 percent of the total in 1994 to 58 percent of the total collected in 2023. The most effective way to solve the problem is to re-balance the burden and reduce the residential property tax rate from 1.35 percent to 0.94 percent as the Department of Revenue recommended in 2021. We also need an automatic property tax exemption which provides a tax refund for residents unable to pay. Veterans and senior citizens are being pushed out of their homes because of the tax increases.
- Healthcare. I would vote to reauthorize Medicaid, and I would also advocate to reinstate those citizens who were dropped from the rolls for administrative mistakes. Medicaid allows people to obtain medical services that keep them healthy, on the job, and able to care for their families. Medicaid payments help medical providers to stay in business, a critical issue in rural Montana.
2) I am concerned that our current legislature has abandoned the fundamentals of our state constitution with regard to providing a good public education for our citizens, and not demanding regulations that provide for clean air and water and access to open space.
The largest increase in the country, 551%, in individuals experiencing chronic patterns of homelessness from 2007 to 2023.
The second-largest increase in homeless youth, 76%, from 2022 to 20231.
The second-largest percentage increase in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness from 2007 to 2023, at 89%1.
The third-largest percentage increase, 45%, in homelessness from 2022 to 20231.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
