Laura Smith (Montana)
2025 - Present
2029
0
Laura Smith (Democratic Party) is a member of the Montana State Senate, representing District 40. She assumed office on January 6, 2025. Her current term ends on January 6, 2029.
Smith (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Montana State Senate to represent District 40. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Laura Smith earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 2004 and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.[1] Her career experience includes working as an attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana and as the deputy director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.[2]
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
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
Elections
2024
See also: Montana State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Montana State Senate District 40
Laura Smith defeated Greg Guthrie in the general election for Montana State Senate District 40 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Laura Smith (D) | 53.8 | 6,392 | |
 | Greg Guthrie (R) | 46.2 | 5,482 | |
| Total votes: 11,874 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 40
Laura Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana State Senate District 40 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Laura Smith | 100.0 | 3,250 | |
| Total votes: 3,250 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 40
Greg Guthrie advanced from the Republican primary for Montana State Senate District 40 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Greg Guthrie | 100.0 | 2,633 |
| Total votes: 2,633 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.
2022
See also: Montana House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Montana House of Representatives District 79
Laura Smith defeated Keith Pigman in the general election for Montana House of Representatives District 79 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Laura Smith (D) | 60.8 | 3,328 | |
| Keith Pigman (R) | 39.2 | 2,144 | ||
| Total votes: 5,472 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dennison Rivera (R)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 79
Laura Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Montana House of Representatives District 79 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Laura Smith | 100.0 | 1,776 | |
| Total votes: 1,776 | ||||
| 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 79
Dennison Rivera advanced from the Republican primary for Montana House of Representatives District 79 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dennison Rivera | 100.0 | 1,048 | |
| Total votes: 1,048 | ||||
| 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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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Laura Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Laura Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I'm an attorney, former federal prosecutor of violent crime and government leader here in Helena. My husband and I live on the west side in HD 79 with our two daughters. They are my reason for running for office.
I believe we owe it to the next generation—and ourselves—to prioritize and fight for Montana's future. I served in state government leadership for five years, working to prevent and reduce child abuse while advancing policies that support healthy communities. In each of these roles, I led complex projects involving many individuals with differing viewpoints. I know how to get complicated projects across the finish line. I am also someone with a lot of energy, passion, and a genuine commitment to serving and listening to the people of our district.
- The stakes couldn’t be higher for Montana this election. When elected, I will work to make our communities affordable, preserve public lands and stream access, advocate for well-funded public education, champion conservation, and fight to preserve our rights under the Montana Constitution.
- I have talked to many of our neighbors in HD 79, and I will represent you on the issues that are important in our area, including the cost of living, affordable housing, access to public lands, and bringing integrity and civility back to Montana politics. I am committed to truly representing our community’s interests, so please reach out regarding your concerns.
- I know how to work with both Republicans and Democrats to pass bills and get work done & done well. In addition to my legal experience, I have extensive health care advocacy, leadership, and policy experience. Serving in the legislature requires stamina, energy, and resiliency—qualities that have defined both my personal life and professional career. I would be honored to use these skills to serve our community in the legislature.
My first job will be to represent the interests of you, as a constituent living in HD 79. I’ve spent many evenings knocking doors and hearing our neighbors’ concerns, which include the cost of living, protecting our public lands, and rejecting political extremism.
I share these priorities of our neighbors. I am especially passionate about issues that involve children, health care policy, early education, and public education. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, I prosecuted instances of severe abuse that no child should ever go through or witness. As a leader at DPHHS, I created and led The First Years Initiative, which focused on issues impacting young children and their families, including access to treatment for parents with substance use disorders. What happens to us all as kids influences the arc of our lives. Kids in Montana deserve to grow up in communities that are safe and supportive.
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 editor@ballotpedia.org.
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 9, 2022
- ↑ KTVH, "Meet the Candidate: Laura Smith, HD 79 Democrat," October 12, 2022
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Montana State Senate District 40 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Robert Farris-Olsen (D) |
Montana House of Representatives District 79 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
