1980Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
1980 election for Montana House District 53
Montana House of Representatives · Montana
John M. Shontz (D) won with 38.8% of the vote, defeating G. Kay Carpenter (Ind) by 5.7 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
John M. ShontzDemocrat · winner
38.8%1,340
G. Kay CarpenterIndependent
33.1%1,144
Blane M. RigginsRepublican
28.2%974
3,458 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1980
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET