Montana Senate Republicans announced in a post on X the morning of Wednesday, August 7th that State Senator Barry Usher of Yellowstone County has been elected to serve as Vice President of the National Conference of State Legislatures, which also means he will assume to role of President starting in 2026. The NCSL is a bipartisan organization of state legislators across the nation that aim to both increase the effectiveness of state governments, and to promote the independence and sovereignty of states from the federal government. They host two events a year to allow state legislators to learn and discuss how to be more efficient, and formulate plans to lobby to promote the power and sovereignty of state and local governments relative to the federal government.
Barry Usher has served as a Republican in Montana’s state legislature for seven years, first as a representative of House District 40 from 2017 to 2023, and has since been a state senator from Senate District 20. Usher is also the current Majority Whip of the Montana Senate, having previously performed that role in the State House as well.
Usher is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard and a business owner in Billings.
Senator Usher will succeed the now current president of the NCSL Wayne Harper of the Utah State Senate.
