A Democratic primary is shaping up in the nearly 300-mile-wide Montana Senate District 16 that includes parts of six counties.
Bridget Smith
Jestin Dupree, a six-year member of the Fort Peck Tribal Council, is entering the race to succeed term-limited Frank Smith. He filed for the June 2 primary with the Secretary of State’s office last week.
Dupree joins state Rep. Bridget Smith, D-Wolf Point, in seeking the post in the heavily Democratic district.
The district includes Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, the city of Harlem and adjacent farm and ranch lands.
No Republicans have filed for the seat.
Jestin Dupree
Dupree is in his second term on the tribal council. He served as sergeant-at-arms before that. He is on the Poplar school board and has been active in a host of other community activities.
He was a member of Attorney General Tim Fox’s recently formed Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force, but stepped down after the attorney general intervened in a lawsuit on behalf of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Fort Peck and Fort Belknap tribal councils have been staunch opponents of the pipeline that will transport Canadian oil through northeast Montana. The pipeline goes through several border towns to the reservations.
Dupree writes a daily newsletter that he e-mails to constituents about what is going on in tribal government and on the reservation as a whole.
He graduated from Poplar High School and spent 17 years in the U.S. Army.
Bridget Smith has served four terms in the Montana House. She is prohibited from running for re-election because of term limits.
In the 2019 legislative session, she served on the Taxation and Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committees and was the Democratic vice chair of the Taxation Committee.
She sponsored legislation to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day that passed the House but was defeated in the Senate.
She also supported DUI reform and bills promoting filmmaking in Montana and net metering reform for solar energy. She has been unopposed in her earlier runs for her House seat.
Frank Smith has served two non-consecutive, four-year terms in the Senate. He is running for the state House from District 31, the eastern half of Senate District 16.
On Tuesday, State Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, filed for re-election in House District 32, the western end of Senate District 16.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
Email John Kelleher at [email protected]
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