Some candidates running for the MT Senate or MT House who are opponents of Democrats are “newbies” in that they apparently have not served in state government before. The candidates do not have a political internet presence yet. This post reveals what the internet discloses about such candidates as of today.
Thomas Carlson
Thomas Carlson is a Republican running for new (after redistricting) Montana House District 61. He is graduate research assistant at Montana State University.
Jerry Johnson
Jerry Johnson is a Republican running for new (after redistricting) MT House District 60. He is an owner of Backcountry Adventure in West Yellowstone. He attended Montana State University and served on the town council of West Yellowstone for 26 years.
Johnson recently got into trouble with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) for failing to include the ‘paid for by’ attribution message on a campaign communication as required by Montana law. Johnson accepted responsibility for the unattributed material and provided COPP appropriate attribution information.
Johnson was rejected as a candidate for the West Yellowstone town council by the West voters for some reason in 2021. Jerry ran but was not among the three West town council members elected in the November 2, 2021 general election, so he lost this election.
Tyler Rogers
Rogers lives in Big Sky Meadow Village is a disaster restoration consultant, real estate agent, and full-stack software developer. At the end of 2023, he started a new position, as Regional Sales Executive (North America) at Plexicus, a company headquartered in Spain.
In high school, Rogers sustained a concussion that triggered severe (grand mal) seizures. After four grueling brain surgeries, he was cured. He achieved one of the goals on his bucket list by summiting Mount Everest in May 2023.