Russell C. Fagg

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Russell C. Fagg
Image of Russell C. Fagg

Republican Party

Prior offices
Deputy county attorney Yellowstone County
Montana 13th Judicial District Court
Montana House of Representatives
Elections and appointments
Last election

June 5, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Whitman College

Law

University of Montana

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Russell C. Fagg was a 2018 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Montana.[1]

The Republican primary for Montana's U.S. Senate seat decided which Republican would take on incumbent Jon Tester (D) in a state that voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

A former state representative and judge on the 13th District Court, Russell "Russ" Fagg ran for Senate on his self-described reputation as “center-right, a pragmatic conservative, a fiscal conservative” and a "business Republican."[2] He argued that this reputation and connections to the state would make him the most electable general election candidate against Sen. Tester. He also said that while he generally supported Trump, he would "disagree with this president when it's not in Montana's best interest."[3] He received endorsements from three former Montana governors and two former U.S. representatives from the state.

When announcing his campaign, Fagg mentioned his focus on jobs in the state and his opposition to Sen. Tester's votes for restrictions on firearms. His campaign slogan was Jobs First, Montana Forever.[4] In April 2018, he began shifting his campaign toward emphasizing his ties to the state and criticizing Rosendale for moving in from Maryland.

Fagg served for two terms in the Montana House of Representatives and was elected as a judge on the 13th District Court in 1995. He served in that position until October 2017, when he resigned in order to run for Senate. Fagg previously worked as an attorney, clerked for the Montana Supreme Court, and served as the Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney. He was raised in Billings, Montana.

For more information about the Republican primary election: United States Senate election in Montana (June 5, 2018 Republican primary)

For more information about the general election on November 6, 2018: United States Senate election in Montana, 2018

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Fagg earned a B.A. from Whitman College, a master's degree in judicial studies from the University of Nevada-Reno, and a J.D. from the University of Montana.[5]

Fagg's professional experience includes work as a deputy county attorney for Yellowstone County, a city prosecutor for Billings, a law clerk for the Montana Supreme Court, and an attorney in private practice.[5]

Elections

2018

See also: United States Senate election in Montana, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Montana

Incumbent Jon Tester defeated Matt Rosendale and Rick Breckenridge in the general election for U.S. Senate Montana on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jon Tester
Jon Tester (D)
 
50.3
 
253,876
Image of Matt Rosendale
Matt Rosendale (R)
 
46.8
 
235,963
Image of Rick Breckenridge
Rick Breckenridge (L)
 
2.9
 
14,545

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 504,384
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana

Incumbent Jon Tester advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Montana on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jon Tester
Jon Tester
 
100.0
 
114,948

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 114,948
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Montana

Matt Rosendale defeated Russell C. Fagg, Troy Downing, and Albert Olszewski in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Montana on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Matt Rosendale
Matt Rosendale
 
33.8
 
51,859
Image of Russell C. Fagg
Russell C. Fagg
 
28.3
 
43,465
Image of Troy Downing
Troy Downing
 
19.1
 
29,341
Image of Albert Olszewski
Albert Olszewski
 
18.7
 
28,681

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 153,346
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Green primary election

Green primary for U.S. Senate Montana

Steve Kelly defeated Timothy Adams in the Green primary for U.S. Senate Montana on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Steve Kelly
Steve Kelly
 
61.2
 
971
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Timothy Adams
 
38.8
 
615

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 1,586
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates


Endorsements

Campaign finance

Campaign finance disclosures from May 16, 2018, showed the following:

  • Troy Downing had raised almost $1.44 million and had about $73,000 in cash-on-hand. He loaned his campaign $1.1 million total.
  • Matt Rosendale had raised nearly $1.3 million and had about $390,000 in cash-on-hand.
  • Russ Fagg had raised more than $1 million and had about $360,000 in cash-on-hand.
  • As of May 29, Al Olszewski had not filed his report.

Campaign finance disclosures from the first quarter of 2018 showed the following:

  • Troy Downing had raised almost $1.3 million and had almost $100,000 in cash-on-hand. He loaned his campaign $1 million.
  • Matt Rosendale had raised over $1 million and had about $540,000 in cash-on-hand.
  • Russ Fagg had raised about $930,000 and had about $630,000 in cash-on-hand.
  • Al Olszewski had raised about $230,000 and had almost $50,000 in cash-on-hand.

The table below contains data from FEC Quarterly January 2018 reports. It includes only candidates who have reported at least $10,000 in campaign contributions as of December 31, 2017.[21]

Republican Party Republicans



Polling

U.S. Senate election in Montana, Republican primary
Poll Rosendale (R) Downing (R)Fagg (R)Olszewski (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
WPA Intelligence
April 15-16, 2018		 40%12%17%8%23%+/-4.4503
WPA Intelligence
February 5-7, 2018		 28%12%11%0%49%+/-4.4401
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org


2012

See also: Montana judicial elections, 2012

Fagg was retained with 83.25% of the vote on November 6, 2012.[22][23]

Campaign themes

2018

Campaign website

Fagg's campaign website stated the following:

“

PRO-JOBS
Russ has seen just about every form of family heartbreak come through his court room over the years — most of them caused by poverty and economic crisis. Montana needs more good-paying jobs.

PRO-SECOND AMENDMENT
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people, to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Nothing about “Shall not be infringed” is unclear.

PRO-BALANCED BUDGET
How many trillions are enough? With every passing day our government puts our children deeper into debt. It’s time for a balanced budget.

PRO-EDUCATION
Every Montana family deserves the best educational opportunity for their kids.

PRO-LIFE
Our constitution gurantees every American citizen the right to life, including the most vulnerable.

PRO-LIMITED GOVERNMENT
The framers of our Constitution created a system where no branch of the government could amass too much power. We need to preserve that.

[24]

”
—Russ Fagg’s campaign website (2018)[25]

Campaign events

Fagg attended a campaign event in Polson, Montana, on February 5, 2018. At the campaign event, he criticized Jon Tester for voting against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have restricted abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He also said that he was not a partisan and had Democratic friends.

When asked about what he would do for Native American tribal members, Fagg said he would emphasize economic growth over federal transfer programs. He said, “I’m concerned about the loss of self esteem. I’m convinced the Great Society has been a huge failure.”

When asked about two ethics complaints that had been filed against him due to his alleged improper spending of campaign funds and alleged errors made on his campaign finance disclosure form, Fagg said the complaints would be dismissed. He added, “They file these just to throw mud even though they know they’ll be dismissed.” The complaints were filed by the American Democracy Legal Fund, which was founded by liberal activist David Brock.[26]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Facebook, "Bill Bowser for Senate," accessed October 26, 2017
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Fagg
  3. ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Money Flows as Republicans Jockey for Montana US Senate Slot," May 28, 2018
  4. ↑ Washington Times, "Russell Fagg joins Montana Republican Senate race," October 14, 2017
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 LinkedIn, "Russ Fagg," accessed August 11, 2017
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Great Falls Tribune, "Rosendale touts Ted Cruz, Mike Lee endorsements," December 7, 2017
  7. ↑ Matt for Montana, "Senator Rand Paul Endorses Matt Rosendale for U.s. Senate," January 29, 2018
  8. ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Michael Flynn to Campaign for Montana Senate Candidate," April 24, 2018
  9. ↑ KMMS, "Dan Quayle endorses Troy Downing," March 9, 2018
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Russ for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 1, 2018
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Sidney Herald, "Rosendale says he’s best chance to take Senate seat from Tester," February 10, 2018
  12. ↑ Matt Rosendale for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Matt Rosendale for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  14. ↑ Matt Rosendale for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Russ Fagg for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed March 5, 2018
  16. ↑ Troy Downing for Senate, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  17. ↑ Matt Rosendale for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  18. ↑ Matt Rosendale for Montana, "Endorsements," accessed February 19, 2018
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named murray
  20. ↑ Lone Peak Lookout, "Big Sky’s biggest name in politics," February 15, 2018
  21. ↑ FEC, "Federal Election Commission", accessed February 13, 2018
  22. ↑ Montana Secretary of State - 2012 Official General Election Results
  23. ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Unofficial 2012 Primary Election Results"
  24. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  25. ↑ Russ Fagg for Senate, “Issues,” accessed March 5, 2018
  26. ↑ Valley Journal, "Retired Billings judge targets Tester in Polson event," February 18, 2018

Montana courts

Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana

State courts:

Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court

State resources:

Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana


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