Sen. Russ Tempel

Fifth-session Republican from Chester

Representing Senate District 14

Havre, Chester, Chinook, Malta, Opheim

406-265-0990 • russ.tempel@legmt.gov

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

Russ Tempel previously served in the Montana Senate in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Committee assignments

Senate Finance and Claims

Senate Education and Cultural Resources - Vice-chair

Senate Highways and Transportation - Chair 🪑

Senate Executive Review Committee

Joint Appropriations Section B — Health and Human Services

Bills sponsored

📋 SB 103: Revise fee for issuing an execution or order of sale on foreclosure of lien Russ Tempel (R)📃 Bill text	✅1st Cmte. ✅Senate ✴️House ⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 138: Revise education laws related to a teacher's authority to maintain a positive classroom environment Russ Tempel (R)📃 Bill text	✅1st Cmte. ✴️Senate ⚪️House ⚪️Gov.
📋 SB 264: Eliminate a defense to the vehicle noise statute Russ Tempel (R)📃 Bill text	✴️1st Cmte. ⚪️Senate ⚪️House ⚪️Gov.

Showing 3 of 3

Expert reporting and insight from the Montana Capitol, emailed Thursdays.

Floor vote statistics

Calculations based on 152 Senate floor votes in 2025 involving bills.

🥇 94%

of votes cast on winning side

Average for Senate Republicans is 89%.

🔴 86%

of votes cast on side taken by most Republicans

Average for Senate Republicans is 92%.

🔵 74%

of votes cast on side taken by most Democrats

Average for Senate Republicans is 62%.

Tempel has been marked absent or excused for 0 votes. Average for Senate lawmakers is 0.8.

SD 14 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

Won by 43% (3,393 votes)

Party primary vote, 2022

Won by 8% (287 votes)

Governor vote in district, 2024

Won by 41% (4,095 votes)

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

Montana Free Press coverage

📰 Capitolized

Regier’s not fine with The Nine

Jan 10, 2025 • Tom Lutey

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.

2025 Capitol Tracker

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