Mallerie Stromswold, a high school senior at Billings Senior High, has thrown her hat in the ring to be the Republican candidate for the Montana House of Representatives’ House District 50 seat. That seat contains a chunk of midtown Billings, mostly comprised of the area between Broadwater Ave. and Central Ave. from Montana Ave. to N. 24th St., as well as a portion of the South Side centered around Highland Park. It has been held by Democratic Rep. Jade Bahr since her 2018 victory over Quentin Eggart.
When asked why she is running for office, Stromswold said it is because “I strongly believe we need some younger people to take action in our politics. I’ve always loved politics and being involved so what better way than to run for a seat in our House of Representatives?” Stromswold’s platform is focused on what she says are issues that are both key to Montana and ones that her potential constituents will trust that she can really do something about. With those things in mind, she is focusing on eradicating human/sex trafficking, reallocating and tidying up the state education budget, and protecting access to public lands.
While Stromswold was unavailable to answer followup questions regarding her plans to tackle these issues, according to her press release she believes her passion for politics brings an eager and fresh perspective to the Montana Legislature. “Those of younger generations seeing a peer taking action in politics will hopefully spark more interest in the subject,” says Stromswold. “It is one thing to discuss politics and become distraught about certain issues; it is another to take action and make a change. This is exactly why I am running.”
