Larry Jent (born December 20, 1951) is a politician and a former Democratic member of the

Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate. The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature me ...

. He served in the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

from 2001 to 2007, and served in the

Montana Senate The Montana Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Composition of the Senate :''67th Legislature – 2021–202 ...

from 2007 to 2015.

Early life, education, and early career

Jent was born in 1951 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He earned his BS from

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1973. He went on to receive his JD from the University of Colorado Law School in 1983. Jent has served in the

Montana Army National Guard The Montana Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one t ...

. He was a Fishing Guide for Bad Lillys Trout Shop/Ray's Tackle Shop from 1980 to 1983. He was then a Sole Practitioner from 1983 to 1987. He has been Partner for Williams and Jent,

Limited Liability Partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

since 1987.

1996 congressional election

In 1996, incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Pat Williams of Montana's At-large congressional district decided to retire. Jent was one of four Democrat candidates to run for the seat. Former State Senator

Bill Yellowtail William Petzoldt Yellowtail Jr. (born January 8, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the Montana Senate and as a regional administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Early life and e ...

won the Democratic primary with 56% of the vote. Jent ranked last with just 10% of the vote.

Montana legislature

Elections

In 2000, Jent was elected to the

to the

Bozeman Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

-based 29th House District. He defeated Republican Sandra Lee Smiley 66%-33%. In the 2000 U.S. Senate election, Democrat Brian Schweitzer carried the district with 65% of the vote. In 2002, he was re-elected with 69% against Dustin L. Stewart. After redistricting in 2004, Jent ran in the newly redrawn 64th House District and defeated Republican Page Lutes with 56% of the vote. In 2006, he decided to retire from his seat to run for the

. In the Bozeman-based 32nd Senate District, he defeated Republican Art Wittich 56%-44%. In 2010, he won re-election to a second term defeating Republican Michael B. Comstock 54%-46%.

Committee assignments

*Fish and Game *Judiciary *State Administration

2012 gubernatorial election

In April 2011, Jent filed paperwork to run for

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Montana National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

, but dropped out in March 2012, months before the primary.

2016 Attorney General election

Jent ran for

Attorney General of Montana The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states. The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the agen ...

. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and lost in a landslide in the general election with 32% of the vote, to the incumbent Tim Fox's 68%.

References

External links

Montana Senate - Larry Jent
official MT State Legislature website
Project Vote Smart - Senator Larry Jent (MT)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Larry Jent
2006200420022000199419921990
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Jent, Larry Democratic Party Montana state senators Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives 1951 births Living people Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee