Montana State Senate District 45
| Montana State Senate District 45 | ||
 | ||
| Current incumbent | Dick Barrett  | |
| Population | 19,714 | |
| Voting age | 80.3% age 18 and over | |
Montana's forty-fifth state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Dick Barrett.
As of the 2010 census, a total of 19,714 civilians reside within Montana's forty-fifth state senate district.[1] Montana state senators represent an average of 19,788 residents.[2] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 18,044 residents.[3]
About the office
Members of the Montana State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[4] Senators may serve no more than two consecutive terms. Twenty-five of the fifty state senate seats are up for election each even-numbered year. Montana legislators assume office the first Monday of January following the election. If January 1 is a Monday, legislators assume office on the first Wednesday.[5][6]
Qualifications
According to Part V, Section 4, of the Montana Constitution, in order to be eligible to serve in the Montana State Senate, [7] "A candidate for the legislature shall be a resident of the state for at least one year next preceding the general election. For six months next preceding the general election, he shall be a resident of the county if it contains one or more districts or of the district if it contains all or parts of more than one county."
According to the Montana Secretary of State, candidates must be U.S. citizens.[8]
Candidates must be registered voters in the state.[9][10]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2025[11] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $128.86/legislative day | $206/day |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Montana legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Montana Term Limits Act in 1992. That initiative said that Montana senators cannot serve more than two four-year terms, or a total of eight years in any 16-year period.[12]
The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2000.[4]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Montana State Legislature, the board of county commissioners of the county that comprises the legislative district of the vacant seat must select a replacement. The secretary of state must notify the board of county commissioners and the state party that holds the vacant seat no later than seven days after being informed of the vacancy. The county central committee has 45 days after receiving notice from the secretary of state to provide a list of candidates to the board of county commissioners. The board must select a replacement no later than 15 days after receiving the list of candidates. If the legislature is in session, the selection must be made no later than five days after receiving a candidate list.[13] Any person selected to fill a House seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term. Any person selected to fill a Senate seat serves until the next scheduled general election.[14]
See sources: Montana Const. Art. 5, Sec 7 and Montana Code Ann. §5-2-402
Elections
2016
- See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Montana State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 14, 2016.
Incumbent Dick Barrett defeated Sashin Hume in the Montana State Senate District 45 general election.[15][16]
| Montana State Senate, District 45 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Dick Barrett Incumbent |
64.82% | 6,372 | |
| Republican | Sashin Hume | 35.18% | 3,459 | |
| Total Votes | 9,831 | |||
| Source: Montana Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Dick Barrett ran unopposed in the Montana State Senate District 45 Democratic primary.[17][18]
| Montana State Senate, District 45 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Dick Barrett Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Sashin Hume ran unopposed in the Montana State Senate District 45 Republican primary.[19][20]
| Montana State Senate, District 45 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Sashin Hume (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2012
Elections for the office of Montana State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 12, 2012. Fred Thomas (R) defeated Dan Metully (D) and Rob McCoy (L) in the general election. Thomas defeated Gary MacLaren in the Republican primary. Metully replaced unopposed Democratic primary winner Richard Marcus on the general election ballot. McCoy was unopposed in the Libertarian primary.[21][22][23]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Fred Thomas |
58.3% | 6,509 | |
| Democratic | Dan Metully | 33.8% | 3,772 | |
| Libertarian | Rob McCoy | 7.9% | 883 | |
| Total Votes | 11,164 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Fred Thomas |
58.2% | 2,310 |
| Gary MacLaren | 41.8% | 1,656 |
| Total Votes | 3,966 | |
Campaign contributions
From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Montana State Senate District 45 raised a total of $96,572. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $7,429 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.
| Campaign contributions, Montana State Senate District 45 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average | |
| 2016 | $14,474 | 2 | $7,237 | |
| 2012 * | $45,531 | 5 | $9,106 | |
| 2010 | $2,911 | 1 | $2,911 | |
| 2008 | $2,205 | 1 | $2,205 | |
| 2004 | $11,822 | 2 | $5,911 | |
| 2002 | $19,629 | 2 | $9,815 | |
| Total | $96,572 | 13 | $7,429 | |
| * Campaign finance data for 2012 is incomplete for this district. | ||||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Legislative Services Division, "Population Summary Report," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "2010 Census Interactive Population Search," accessed September 11, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "States Ranked by Population," April 2, 2001
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 termlimits.org, "State Legislative Term Limits," accessed February 4, 2021 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "limits" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Confirmed via email with the Montana State Legislature on 8/6/2011
- ↑ Montana Constitution, "Article V, Section 3," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Constitution of the State of Montana, "Article 5, Section 4," accessed May 22, 2025
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2024 Offices, Qualifications, and Fees," accessed May 27, 2025
- ↑ "Montana Secretary of State, "Declaration for Nomination and Oath of Candidacy," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ "Montana Secretary of State, "Write-In Candidate Declaration of Intent and Oath of Candidacy," accessed May 29, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
- ↑ Montana State Constitution, "Article 4, Section 8," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Code Annotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute 5-2-402 (3) (a)-(c))
- ↑ Montana Legislature, "Montana Code Annotated," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute 5-2-405 (1)-(2))
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Legislative General Election Canvass," accessed December 21, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filing List: Legislative," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2016 primary election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 7, 2016
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2012 Elections Candidate Information." Retrieved October 23, 2013
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, 2012 primary election results. Retrieved October 23, 2013
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, 2012 general election results. Retrieved October 23, 2013
