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MONTANA SENATE DISTRICT 11

State Senator – the office of state senator serves in the Montana legislature’s upper house. There are 50 senators who are elected from districts made up of two House districts. Senators are elected to 4-year terms which are staggered so that half are elected every two years. Senators propose and vote on proposed laws during the legislative sessions that meet for 90 days in odd-numbered years, and provide oversight of state agencies and study issues through interim committees that meet between sessions. Senators are limited to two consecutive 4-year terms.

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  • Candidate picture

    ED BUTTREY
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    STEVEN GALLOWAY
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    VALYNDA HOLLAND
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    MARK WINTERS
    (Dem)

Biographical Information

Q1. Please briefly provide the following information: place (town or county and state) of birth, age as of election day 2026, place (town or county) of permanent residency, occupation/employer, and education. How do these and your other life experiences qualify you to be an effective Legislator?

Q2. What are the most important issues you expect to face if elected to the Montana Legislature, and what are your positions on those issues? How would you prioritize each of the issues you have identified?

Q3. What economic policies will you pursue to help Americans who are concerned about their economic prospects in the coming years, including the cost of medical insurance and care?

Q4. What measures do you support to ensure Montana elections are secure while facilitating the ability of all eligible voters to cast their ballots? What, if anything, should the state government do to reduce the role of money in American elections?

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Campaign Website http://www.valyndaformt.com
Campaign Twitter Handle @valyndaformt
Campaign Instagram URL http://instagram.com/valyndaformt
Campaign Facebook URL http://facebook.com/valyndaformt
Campaign YouTube URL
Other Social Media bluesky.com/valyndaformt
I was born in Monterey, California, am 35 years old, and live in Great Falls, Montana, Cascade County. I am self-employed and completing my B.A. in Political Science. My background in healthcare revenue, public service, community involvement, and lived experience with working-class struggles gives me a practical understanding of the issues Montanans face. I will bring accountability, transparency, and a people-first approach to the legislature.
My top priorities are affordable housing, healthcare reform, education, public lands, responsible review of AI data centers, and criminal justice reform. Montanans need housing they can afford, healthcare that is accessible and not driven by profit, strong public schools, protected public lands, and a justice system focused on transparency, rehabilitation, and accountability. I will prioritize policies that directly improve the daily lives of working families.
I support healthcare reform through a single-payer Medicare+ system that includes medical, dental, vision, mental health, and end-of-life care. I also support caps on private insurance premiums, deductibles, prescription drugs, hospital charges, and clinic costs. Beyond healthcare, I will support policies that lower housing costs, strengthen wages, protect workers, and reduce the cost of living so that Montanans can build stable futures.
Montana should protect secure elections while making sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot. I support accessible voter registration, fair mail-ballot access, strong election worker protections, and transparent audits. Research from the Brennan Center shows voter fraud is very rare, and impersonation fraud is virtually nonexistent. I also support overturning Citizens United, banning corporate campaign contributions, ending the influence of super PACs, and setting strong contribution limits. https://www.brennancenter.org/topics/voting-elections/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud
Campaign Website http://montanawinters.com
I was born in Great Falls, Montana. I graduated from CM Russell High School in 1981. I got my Bachelor of Science Degree from Montana State University in Chemical Engineering in 1986. Like many Montanan's at the time, I was unable to find a good paying job in Montana. A problem that still exists today in many parts of Montana. I went to work for Arco/BP first in Washington State and then in Indiana. While working in Indiana, Myself and my Family lived in the Chicago suburbs. I retired in 2019 and then returned to Great Falls, Montana in 2022.

In my time with Arco/BP, I managed teams of up to 225 people, including both salaried and union represented employees. This experience helps me understand issues and solve problems.
Affordability. I plan to introduce legislation increasing taxes on high income earners and cutting taxes on lower income earners. Reversing a trend in recently passed legislation.

Growth and Opportunity. Cascade County has lagged the other large counties in the State in terms of GDP growth and high paying jobs. My plan is to introduce legislation to stimulate light and medium industrial manufacturing in Cascade County.

Residential Renewable Energy. Increase residential solar and wind power.

Resident Hunting Rights. Allow resident hunting windows before and after out of state hunters along with other reforms that help residents.

Criminal Justice Reform. Enhance Miranda rights. Introduce fair practices for inmate accounts.
See my affordability plan above and find out more on my website. Regarding health care, the system is completely broken. It is too expensive and too inaccessible. We need to stop the politics and focus on fixing the problem. I believe a Federal level commission needs to be formed of experts. They need to look at the root cause of problems and develop solutions, and they should focus on quality, sustainable solutions. As long as we continue to politicize healthcare, we are going to remain in the doom loop.
There is a loss of trust in elections in our country and that is a big problem. I support Michael Hummert's plan for Election Integrity, Security and Sovereignty. Michael is US Senate Candidate for Montana. This includes a National Election Integrity Card, which is issued free to citizens, amongst many other solutions.

PAC money should be banned! Government funding should be provided to candidates depending on the office they are seeking. This funding, plus the individual contributions, would be the only money for a campaign. If you remove PAC money and not allow millionaires and billionaires to self fund their campaigns, you will allow the best candidates to have a chance.