Bryce Bennett, (born November 11, 1984) an American politician from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. As a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served in the Montana Senate from 2019 to 2021 and represented he 50th senate district based in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork ...

. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019.

Early life and education

Born in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

, Bennett is a fifth-generation Montanan. At a young age, his family moved to Hysham, Montana, then, when Bennett was aged eight, to the Missoula Valley. He attended Lolo Elementary and Big Sky High School, before enrolling at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

Political career

After graduating in 2007, Bennett went to work for the Democratic National Committee in western Montana. Following the 2008 election, Bennett moved to Helena, Montana, and worked for the Montana House Democrats. When Rep. Robin Hamilton announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2010, Bennett declared his candidacy for the seat. In the 2010 Democratic Primary Election, Bennett won 85% of the vote, defeating his opponent by more than five-to-one. In the general election held on November 2, Bennett won narrowly: he took 50.4% of the vote while the Republican nominee won 46.9% and the Libertarian 2.7%. He took office in January 2011. Bryce founded the Montana Privacy Caucus by bringing together Republicans and Democrats in the legislature to combat the overreach of government and corporations into our personal lives. Together, the caucus has passed a series of bills which protect Montanans’ private data. Bennett served as a Minority Caucus Chair in the 2013-2014 session and Minority Whip of the House during the 2015-2016 session. The Montana Ambassadors named Bennett ‘Legislator of the Year’ for his work to combat dark money.

2020 Race for Secretary of State

In the

2020 Montana 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 of ...

, Bennett ran for

Secretary of State of Montana The Secretary of State of Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The current Secretary of State is Christi Jacobsen. Organization The Secretary of State's Office is composed of f ...

. Bennett was uncontested in the Democratic Primary. Christi Jacobsen defeated Bennett, 59.56% to 40.44%.

Personal life

Bennett is openly gay. He is the first openly gay man to serve in the Montana legislature. His 2010 campaign won the support of the

Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Victory F ...

. Bryce was named by

The Advocate (LGBT magazine) ''The Advocate'' is an American LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly and available by subscription. ''The Advocate'' brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertain ...

as one of their ‘40 under 40’. He was also named to Out (magazine) ‘Power List’ which included “exemplary individuals homanage to influence the way others live — either through their public personas, politics, or wealth — and affect cultural and social attitudes.”

References

External links

Legislative homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Bryce 1984 births 21st-century American politicians Gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Montana Living people Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Democratic Party Montana state senators People from Hysham, Montana Politicians from Billings, Montana Politicians from Missoula, Montana University of Montana alumni 21st-century American LGBT people