Brad Barker
2025 - Present
2027
0
Brad Barker (Republican Party) is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 55. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Barker (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives to represent District 55. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Brad Barker was born in Altus, Oklahoma. Barker served in the United States Army from 1994 to 2014. He earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1994. He earned a graduate degree from Georgetown University in 2004. He earned a graduate degree from United States Marine Corps University in 2006. Barker's career experience includes working as a business owner.[1]
Sponsored legislation
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
2023-2024
Barker 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 55
Incumbent Brad Barker defeated Kim Gillan in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 55 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brad Barker (R) | 68.8 | 4,858 |
 | Kim Gillan (D)  | 31.2 | 2,201 | |
| Total votes: 7,059 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 55
Kim Gillan advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 55 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kim Gillan | 100.0 | 973 |
| Total votes: 973 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 55
Incumbent Brad Barker defeated Mary Horman and Lisa Bennett in the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 55 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Barker | 52.1 | 1,527 |
 | Mary Horman | 25.1 | 736 | |
| Lisa Bennett | 22.8 | 667 | |
| Total votes: 2,930 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Barker in this election.
2022
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 58
Brad Barker defeated Judith Gregory in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 58 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Barker (R) | 66.4 | 3,841 |
| Judith Gregory (D) | 33.6 | 1,940 | |
| Total votes: 5,781 | |||
| = 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 58
Judith Gregory advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 58 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Judith Gregory | 100.0 | 951 |
| Total votes: 951 | |||
| = 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 58
Brad Barker advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 58 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Barker | 100.0 | 1,834 |
| Total votes: 1,834 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brad Barker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Brad Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Grounded by a ranch upbringing, I have over 28 years of combined public service as an Army Aviator and Commander in combat, School District Administrator and School District Trustee to defend the Constitution and provide quality education for all of our kids. Having served around the world in countries both rich and poor, stable and wrecked by conflict, I know that we are extremely blessed. Montanans have the resources, ingenuity, work ethic and grit to conquer any challenge put before us if we work together, without arbitrary government constraints, and honor the institutions and traditions that got us here. I prefer to solve problems rather than throw rocks.
- Improve regulatory framework & transparency in the energy & housing permit approval process to increase free market supply.
- Address teacher shortages and increase career and technical education opportunities to improve outcomes for all students.
- Continue to improve voter registration & voting systems to ensure integrity while acknowledging that there is no evidence of significant election fraud in Montana.
Infrastructure (Energy, Housing, Ag)
- Energy, housing & food are vital to our security & the most significant drivers of inflation.
- Improve regulatory framework & transparency in the energy & housing permit approval process to increase free market supply.
- Protect water rights & streamline the waterway improvement process to reduce the risk of flooding.
- Ensure abundant, affordable & reliable energy by all means - natural gas, clean coal, renewables & safe nuclear power.
Education (Teacher Shortages, CTE, Maintain Parental Rights)
- Increase career & technical education (CTE) opportunities & the public-private partnerships that support them with an emphasis on the construction trades & healthcare to improve outcomes after graduation for all students.
- Pursue initiatives to better attract, retain, compensate & train teachers to address shortages while remaining budget neutral.
- Maintain parental rights with increased curriculum transparency & focus on academics instead of partisan issues.
Trust in Government (Transparency, Accountability, Integrity)
- Continue to improve voter registration & voting systems to ensure integrity while acknowledging that there is no evidence of significant election fraud in Montana.
- Improve the accuracy of voter registration lists with measures like comparing to SSN death record & ensuring registrants are citizens.
- Restore trust in our institutions & elections by addressing both fraud & unsubstantiated allegations.
Ronald Reagan. He recognized America as a "shining city upon a hill" because of how blessed we are, inspired confidence in our future despite the challenges that we faced and promoted peace through strength.
Integrity, Sense of Duty & Thick Skin
My experience is based on a lifetime of service committed to protecting and defending the Constitution to support the best interests of all Americans and the future of our kids.
Represent the interest of constituents within the framework of the US and State Constitutions without purposely pushing the "Easy Buttons" of hate, fear and resentment to get support and votes. Elected officials should truly lead by speaking truth even when not popular and be willing to accept the results.
Policy that serves the best interest of all Montanans.
I most clearly remember President Reagan being shot in 1981 when I was 9 and the gas prices and inflation of the late 70s and early 80s.
Worked for my Dad at his large animal veterinary practice, farming and ranching.
Commanding in combat in Afghanistan is the most challenging thing I've done.
A collaborative relationship of mutual respect to meet the needs of constituents.
Education is one of the most important things that we do as a society. Preserving our freedoms and prosperity requires a populace educated enough to think and act on their own. We must improve the quality and agility of education.
Legislatures are and should be the most powerful and diffuse branch of state governments. A unicameral legislature has the potential to be more efficient with the risk of more narrowly concentrating power that strong personalities could potentially take advantage of to pursue an agenda that does not represent citizens. I favor keeping that power divided with bicameral legislatures.
It is beneficial to have legislators from a multitude of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
Yes. That's how it works.
Stick as closely as possible to existing boundaries i.e. towns, counties, etc. rather than gerrymandering based on other factors. Gerrymandering increases divisiveness and tribalism.
Appropriations; Energy, Technology and Federal Relations; Education
What three things do you never want to hear in Army Aviation? A Second Lieutenant say, "Based on my experience"; a Commander say, "I've been thinking and come to a decision"; or, a Warrant Officer say, "Hey, watch this S#!&".
It depends. At the Federal level, we have seen what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when restrictions imposed by posse comitatus and politics kept Federal troops from being able to respond to support the citizens of Louisiana. As representatives of their constituents, only legislatures should be able to grant the use of emergency powers that potentially infringe on the natural rights of citizens while they are still capable of making decisions and caring for themselves. Conversely, legislatures should oversee standing authorities for the use of emergency powers for catastrophes, specifically identified, where citizens cannot take care of themselves without assistance. For example, a governor should be able to immediately respond to a natural disaster with oversight but not be able to shut down businesses due to a pandemic without a grant from the legislature.
Yes. Our democratic form of government as a Constitutional Federal Republic requires achieving consensus to overcome hurdles imposed by the separation of power among branches and level of government. Winner take all approaches to policy, if successful at all, achieve short-term results, inspire resentment, increase inefficiencies in governance, whiplash citizens and last about as long as a politician patting themselves on the back. The clash of ideas and debate has made us great. Accumulation of power at the Federal level makes compromise more difficult and eliminates the opportunity for States and municipalities to be laboratories of democracy where policy initiatives can be vetted in reality at lower cost.
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.
Scorecards
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 [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Montana State Legislature was in session from January 2 to May 2.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 13, 2022
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana House of Representatives District 55 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Seth Berglee (R) |
Montana House of Representatives District 58 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
