Sen. John Esp

Tenth-session Republican from Big Timber

Representing Senate District 29

Livingston, Gardiner, east downtown Bozeman

Committees •Bills •Key votes •Voting stats •2024 election margin •MTFP Coverage

Esp previously served in the Montana Senate in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2019, 2021 and 2023, as well as the House in 2001 and 2011.

Montana Free Press coverage

📰 2025 Legislature

Democrats and GOP ‘Nine’ propel state budget bill through Senate debate

Apr 17, 2025 • Eric Dietrich

Committee assignments

Senate Finance and Claims - Vice-chair

Senate Education and Cultural Resources

Senate Highways and Transportation

Senate Rules

Joint Appropriations Section F — Long-Range Planning - Vice-chair

Bills sponsored

📋 SB 29: Allow electronic submission of bonds for state construction projects John Esp (R)📃 Bill text	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 46: Increase registration fee for underground petroleum tanks John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 223: Allow interest earned on workforce housing appropriations to be retained John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 315: Allocate funding for petroleum tank cleanup John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 429: Generally revise laws related to determination and restoration of fitness in criminal proceedings John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 430: Generally revise laws related to civil commitment and emergency detention of mentally ill persons John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.
📋 SB 435: Generally revise laws related to mentally ill individuals John Esp (R)📃 Bill text 💵 Fiscal note	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✅House ✅Gov.

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Floor vote statistics

Calculations based on 2,696 Senate floor votes in 2025 involving bills.

🥇 75%

of votes cast on winning side

Average for Senate Republicans is 83%.

🔴 86%

of votes cast on side taken by most Republicans

Average for Senate Republicans is 88%.

🔵 58%

of votes cast on side taken by most Democrats

Average for Senate Republicans is 66%.

Esp has been marked absent or excused for 27 votes. Average for Senate lawmakers is 27.5.

SD 29 election results

Last in-cycle for Senate election in 2022. House seats are elected every two years, Senate seats every four.

General election vote, 2022

Ran unopposed

Party primary vote, 2022

Ran unopposed

Governor vote in district, 2024

Won by 5% (705 votes)

Senators elected in 2022 were assigned new districts during the 2023 redistricting cycle.

About the 2025 Montana Free Press Capitol Tracker

This guide is an effort to make the quantifiable aspects of the Montana Legislature more accessible to the public by compiling information about lawmakers, proposed bills and the legislative process. This is a project of Montana Free Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that aims to provide Montanans with in-depth, nonpartisan news coverage.

The information presented here is collected from a variety of sources including the Montana Legislature's public roster and its official bill-tracking system. Reporting and web design were done by Jacob Olness and Eric Dietrich. Please contact them at jolness@montanafreepress.org and edietrich@montanafreepress.org with bug reports, questions or suggestions.

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2025 Capitol Tracker

The lawmakers, bills and votes of the 69th Montana Legislature