Corey Stapleton | |
---|---|
21st Secretary of State of Montana | |
In office January 2, 2017 –January 4, 2021 | |
Governor | Steve Bullock |
Preceded by | Linda McCulloch |
Succeeded by | Christi Jacobsen |
Member of the Montana Senate from the 27th district | |
In office January 2001 –January 2009 | |
Preceded by | Bruce Crippen |
Succeeded by | Gary Branae |
Personal details | |
Born | Seattle,Washington,U.S. | September 17,1967
Political party | Republican |
Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
Website | Campaign website |
Corey Stapleton (born September 17,1967) is an American politician and musician who served as the Secretary of State of Montana from 2017 to 2021. A Republican,he served as a member of the Montana State Senate from 2001 to 2009. [1]
In 2020,Stapleton ran to represent Montana's at-large congressional district in the United States House of Representatives,but lost the Republican primary to Matt Rosendale. [2] After losing the House race,Stapleton announced in 2021 his intention to pursue a career as a country singer. [3] After expressing interest in a candidacy for president of the United States in the 2024 election, [4] Stapleton became the first Republican office-holder to announce their run;he withdrew in October 2023 before the primaries.
Stapleton was born on September 17,1967,in Seattle. Nominated by the Secretary of the Navy,he attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport,Rhode Island. Serving as battalion adjutant and earning the Most Inspirational Wrestler Award,he entered the United States Naval Academy [5] in Annapolis,Maryland,where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. [6]
He served as a Surface Warfare Officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and the Aegis cruiser USS HuéCity (CG-66). He voluntarily resigned his naval commission in 1997 to work in Billings,Montana,as a financial advisor. [7] [8]
In 2000 he won a three-way Republican primary and then general election to become the first Generation X-er elected to the Montana Senate. [9] [10] In 2004,he won re-election to a second term,defeating Democrat Chris Daem 57%–43%. [11]
Stapleton was elected Minority Whip [12] in 2006 until term-limited out of office in 2008. He served as Senate Minority Leader [13] in the 2007 legislative session,which ended without a budget compromise between the Democratic-controlled senate and Republican-controlled House.
Stapleton sponsored several pieces of legislation including Otter Creek Coal development (SB409 2003) [14] the attempted creation of a Montana medical school (SB273 2005) [15] the Montana National Guard Relief Act (SB75) [16] and the demand for reorganization and replacement of the Montana Department of Revenue's computer system POINTS (SB271 2003). [17]
Stapleton served as chairman of the Montana Republican Legislative Campaign Committee,and advocated for the party's "Handshake with Montana" plan [18] which he compared to the 1994 Republican Party "Contract with America". [19] Montana Republicans gained the majority of the State House and shared control of the Montana State Senate with the Democratic Party in the 2006 election. [20] [21]
Stapleton ran for Governor of Montana with former state senator Bob Keenan as running mate in 2012. [24] He lost to former U.S. Congressman Rick Hill, who won the seven-candidate Republican primary with a plurality of 34% of the vote. Stapleton ranked second with 18% of the vote, sixteen points behind Hill. He won only two counties in the state: Yellowstone (33%) and Treasure (29%). [25] [26]
In early 2013, he decided to run for the U.S. Senate and challenge longtime Democratic incumbent Max Baucus. Stapleton criticized Baucus's record and started a petition to repeal Obamacare. [27] In April 2013, Baucus decided to retire. [28] After it became clear that freshman Representative Steve Daines would seek the Senate seat, Stapleton withdrew from the Senate race to instead run for Daines' seat in the House. Stapleton lost the Republican primary to Ryan Zinke.
On June 15, 2019, Stapleton announced his 2020 candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives. He had initially been a candidate in the crowded 2020 Montana gubernatorial election. [29] He lost the Republican primary to Matt Rosendale.
On March 10, 2022, Stapleton announced that he was "testing the waters" for a 2024 presidential campaign. [30] Stapleton later confirmed he was running on November 11, 2022. [31] He has been described as a "long-shot candidate" due to his lack of polling representation and media coverage.[ citation needed ] Stapleton has raised $7,717 total for his campaign, all through individual contributions, as of March 31, 2023. [32] He withdrew from the election on October 13, 2023. [33]
In July 2017, Stapleton said that there had been 360 cases of voter fraud in Montana in the 2017 special congressional election. [34] [35] When asked to substantiate his claims, Stapleton said that he had been "incorrectly" quoted by the Associated Press and Lee Newspapers. [36]
In October 2018, Stapleton came under scrutiny after it was revealed that a Voter Guide written, published, and mailed by the Montana Secretary of State office had failed to distinguish what changes proposed ballot initiatives would make to existing laws through underlining additions and striking deletions, instead printing the new laws without these distinguishing marks. Stapleton's office awarded the $265,000 contract to print and mail the corrections to all Montana voters to Ultra Graphics, a firm run by former state Republican Party Executive Director Jake Eaton. [37] Stapleton claimed that Eaton's company was awarded the contract because it had submitted the lowest bid. After news reports indicated that a company in Arizona had submitted a bid for less money, Stapleton stated that the Eaton-led firm's bid was the cheapest, because it was the only one able to complete the printing and mailing on time due to being in Montana. [38]
In June 2019, in response to a legislative audit that found he was improperly commuting in a state vehicle, Stapleton's staff claimed that he was not commuting but "teleworking." The matter was turned over to the Helena Police Department. [39] A city attorney refused to file charges, referring to the expiration of a one year statute of limitations, although an AP investigation alleged further potential violations occurring after the period of the audit. [40]
In February 2019, Stapleton was fined $4,000 by Montana's Commissioner of Political Practices for four separate violations of State law in using resources from his secretary of state office to announce his gubernatorial campaign. [41]
Stapleton married his wife Terry in 1992 in Great Falls. They had four children. The couple divorced in 2021. Stapleton has served on various community boards including Montana Manufacturing Extension board, [42] Rotary, American Legion, and the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind foundation. [43] Stapleton is part of country music band Corey Stapleton & The Pretty Pirates and released albums as recently as 2022. [44]
The 2008 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Max Baucus won re-election to a sixth term in a landslide, winning more than 70% of the vote and carrying every county in the state, despite Republican John McCain's narrow victory in the state in the concurrent presidential election. Baucus later resigned his seat on February 6, 2014, after the Senate confirmed him to be U.S. Ambassador to China, having already announced his intention to retire at the end of term on April 23, 2013. As of 2024, this is the last time Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Montana.
Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator from Montana since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
Michael R. Cooney is an American politician who served as the 36th lieutenant governor of Montana from 2016 to 2021. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives (1977–1981), as the secretary of state of Montana (1989–2001), in the Montana Senate (2003–2011), as the president of the Montana Senate (2007–2009) and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Montana in 2000. Cooney was the Democratic nominee for governor of Montana in the 2020 election, losing to Republican U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte.
The 2014 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, 2014. A total of 36 seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate were contested. 33 Class 2 seats were contested for regular 6-year terms to be served from January 3, 2015, to January 3, 2021, and 3 Class 3 seats were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies. The elections marked 100 years of direct elections of U.S. senators. Going into the elections, 21 of the contested seats were held by the Democratic Party, while 15 were held by the Republican Party.
Stephen Clark Bullock is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 24th governor of Montana from 2013 to 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The 2012 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, to elect the governor of Montana. Incumbent Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. is an American politician. A Republican, Rosendale represents Montana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Rosendale served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and in the Montana Senate from 2013 to 2017. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Senate majority leader. Rosendale was elected Montana state auditor in 2016 and held that position from 2017 to 2020. Rosendale ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and for the U.S. Senate in 2018. He was elected to represent Montana's at-large congressional district in 2020. After Montana regained its second House seat in the 2020 census, Rosendale was elected to represent the new 2nd congressional district in 2022.
The 2014 congressional election in Montana was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district. Between 1993 and 2023, Montana had one at-large seat in the House.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana. It was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. The primaries for both the Democratic and Republican nominations took place on June 2, 2020. Incumbent senator Steve Daines won the Republican primary, while Montana Gov. Steve Bullock won the Democratic primary.
Brad Johnson is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission where he left office in January 2023. Johnson was a candidate in the Republican primary in the 2024 United States Senate election in Montana.
The Montana Green Party is a state-level political party affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. It formed in 2001–2002 following Ralph Nader's run for president in 2000 as the Green Party nominee.
The 2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the next governor of Montana, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and various state and local elections. It resulted in voters selecting Greg Gianforte over Mike Cooney. Incumbent Democratic governor Steve Bullock was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term in office, and he ran unsuccessfully for Montana's Class II Senate seat.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Montana was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
A general election in the state of Montana was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, with the primary elections being held on June 2, 2020. Voters will elect one member to United States House of Representatives and all five state constitutional offices, among other elected offices.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Montana will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Montana. Democratic incumbent Jon Tester is seeking a fourth term. He is being challenged by Republican businessman Tim Sheehy. Primary elections took place on June 4, 2024.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana were held on November 8, 2022, to elect two U.S. Representatives from Montana, one from each of its congressional districts. Prior to this election cycle, Montana had one at-large district, represented by Republican Matt Rosendale. However, during the 2020 redistricting cycle, Montana regained the 2nd district that it lost in 1993.
The 2020 Montana Secretary of State election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the secretary of state of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent Republican Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton was elected in 2016 with 55.5% of the vote. Stapleton announced he would not seek re-election, instead running unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the open U.S. House seat in Montana.
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