2025 Capitol Tracker

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

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Last update: 12:11 PM Jun 14, 2025
Sen. John Esp, SD 29

Sen. John Esp

Tenth-session Republican from Big Timber
Representing Senate District 29
Livingston, Gardiner, east downtown Bozeman

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

Committee assignments

Bills sponsored

πŸ“‹ SB 29: Allow electronic submission of bonds for state construction projects
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 46: Increase registration fee for underground petroleum tanks
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 223: Allow interest earned on workforce housing appropriations to be retained
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 315: Allocate funding for petroleum tank cleanup
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 429: Generally revise laws related to determination and restoration of fitness in criminal proceedings
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 430: Generally revise laws related to civil commitment and emergency detention of mentally ill persons
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
πŸ“‹ SB 435: Generally revise laws related to mentally ill individuals
βœ…1st Cmte.
βœ…Senate
βœ…House
βœ…Gov.
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Floor vote statistics

Calculations based on 2,696 Senate floor votes in 2025 involving bills.
πŸ₯‡ 75%
of votes cast on winning side
Average for Senate Republicans is 83%.
πŸ”΄ 86%
of votes cast on side taken by most Republicans
Average for Senate Republicans is 88%.
πŸ”΅ 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

(R) FORREST JAMES MANDEVILLE(R) 100%
Ran unopposed

Party primary vote, 2022

(R) FORREST JAMES MANDEVILLE(R) 100%
Ran unopposed

Governor vote in district, 2024

(D) RYAN BUSSE(D) 51%(R) 46%
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.

Think there's a potential news story to be done about a bill or lawmaker you see here? Tell us at tips@montanafreepress.org.