Left to right, Terry Nelson, Michele Binkley and Wayne Rusk during a March 10 Ravalli County Commissioners meeting.
Terry Nelson has been picked to take over former Rep. Ron Marshall’s seat in the Montana Legislature in House District 87.
Ravalli County Commissioners were forwarded three candidates from the county’s Republican party and made the decision on March 10. The Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Nelson.
Former House representatives Michele Binkley and Wayne Rusk were the other two candidates. Both lost primaries in 2024.
Marshall resigned on March 3 due to what the three-term legislator described as corruption among elected officials in the Capitol and the Department of Justice, who are “bought and paid for” by lobbyists. His specific ire was with those in the tobacco industry.
Marshall did not provide evidence to support his claims. The sudden resignation meant the local Republican party and commission had to act fast to get a representative of the district into Helena.
“I just want to say that this is one of the hardest things that we’ve ever had to do,” Ravalli County Commissioner Dan Huls said during the March 10 meeting. “I know every single one of you, personally, and it’s very difficult.”
Nelson is a former chairman of the Ravalli County Republican Central Committee. He said during the March 10 meeting he grew up in Stevensville and has lived in Victor, Corvallis and Hamilton. He currently resides in Stevensville, he added.
Nelson pointed to his experience within the Ravalli County Planning Department, which he once led.
“I took that planning department, I cut the budget substantially and provided tremendous service, and today it still is functioning well to serve not Republicans, not Democrats, but the citizens of Ravalli County,” Nelson said to the commission. “I think I’ve shown that it doesn’t matter who comes through the door. I’m there to try to help.”
The Montana Legislature has been on break this week, but will reconvene on Monday, March 17.