Rick Jore is a Montana politician and businessman and a former member of the 2006 Montana House of Representatives and chairman of the education committee. Jore was born and raised in Ronan, Montana and received his associate degree from North Idaho College in 1978. He is also the owner of Westslope Trout Company and the vice chairman of the Constitution Party of Montana. First elected as a Republican in 1994, Jore served three terms in the Montana House of Representatives before switching to the Constitution Party, in March 2000. Jore ran again for the legislature in 2000 and 2002 as a Constitution Party candidate and was narrowly defeated in both attempts. A very narrow defeat in 2004, after a recount, was followed by a successful run in 2006, defeating his Democratic opponent 2,045 to 1,643 votes.
In the very close 2004 election, following a recount, Jore initially tied with Democratic nominee Jeanne Windham, with each receiving 1,559 votes in state HouseDistrict 12. Because there was a tie, under Montana law the outgoing Republican Governor Judy Martz, was entitled to choose the winner, and she selected Jore — which gave the Republicans a 50-49 lead over Democrats in the state House, with Jore as the only Constitution Party member. The matter went to the state courts, and in December 2004, the Montana Supreme Court issued its initial ruling, finding in a 6-1 decision that "one or more" of seven contested ballots for Jore were invalid. The decision meant that Windham was elected to office, which in turn created a tie in the state House, which was evenly split between Republicans and Democrats in the House. Because the incoming governor, Brian Schweitzer, was a Democrat, this meant that the new state House speaker would be a Democrat. The Court's written opinion was issued March 18, 2005.
In the next election, Jore had a rematch with Jeanne Windham. This time, Jore won with 55.4% of the vote. With Republicans controlling the Montana House by a slim margin of 50-49, Jore obtained an unexpected amount of political leverage and was appointed chairman of the HouseEducation Committee.
2008 election
Since Jore had already served in the Montana House as a Republican before his 2006 election as a member of the Constitution Party of Montana, state term-limit laws barred him from running for the Montana House in 2008. He attempted to qualify an initiative for the ballot, called the Personhood Amendment, but failed to gather enough signatures. As of March 19, 2009, he was still serving as the vice chairman of the Constitution Party of Montana.
Political positions
Jore has been described as a "no-compromise conservative" and as one of the most conservative legislators in Montana. Jore supports an "original intent" approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, stating that "The concept of a living constitution is in my mind an absolute perversion." Jore has authored bills that call for eliminating state laws requiring compulsory school attendance, outlawing affirmative action and abandoning Montana's no-fault divorce laws by requiring a judge to publicly declare who is to blame for the breakup and imposing a financial penalty. Other bills that Jore has authored would end the state inheritance tax, phase in a 20 percent reduction in individual income taxes, terminate the state-tribal hunting and fishing agreement on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and a right-to-work state by prohibiting payment of union dues as a condition of employment.
