Working for a
About Kelly
Kelly grew up in Ekalaka, a small town in eastern Montana, where he learned the value of hard work and community. He moved to Bozeman to attend Montana State University in 2003. After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, he began working for the Community Food Co-op, and has been there ever since. He served two terms in leadership of the Gallatin County Democrats, which prepared him for public service by teaching him how to build community, form consensus, and communicate openly and honestly with Montanans.
Kelly has been a House Representative for the past 5 years representing the hard-working people of north and west Bozeman (House Districts 64 and 65). You have most likely met Kelly on your doorstep, at a community event, or have chatted with Kelly on the phone or through email. Contact him! He loves to hear from constituents.
Now more than ever, we need regular people in office who are willing to speak truth to power. Kelly works every day for his living, and rents an apartment with his spouse, Rebecca, in west Bozeman just like many of you. A lot of people in the Capitol building may not like it, but he is consistently one of the legislators who is most willing to call out right and wrong, and hold people accountable whenever they try to put the interests of their wealthy friends over the well-being of the rest of us.
All of his work has been driven by the strong conviction that every Montanan has the right to housing, healthcare, and a good quality of life. With your support, he hopes to continue working to make sure every Montanan gets what he he had: a great public education, a strong community, and the opportunity to succeed and thrive.
Montana Senate District 32
Check out the map to the right.
If you live in this district, you can vote for Kelly!
If you don’t live in this district, you can help Kelly by donating to the campaign and signing up for Kelly’s email list!
Guest Columns, Scorecards, Articles
Guest Columns and Letters to the Editor
Read some of Kelly’s guest columns and hear constituent support for Kelly through Letters to the Editor.
Legislative Score Cards
See how Kelly scored on issues important to specific organizations and non-profits.
News Articles
A list of news articles about Kelly and his work in the legislature and Montana communities.
Kortum bill to return housing application fees signed into law
Rep. Kelly Kortum blasts GOP on housing, budget, and pitches Dems as party of “stability”
About that political postcard you got from the Secretary of State
Kortum brings bill to raise the state’s minimum wage (2021, 2023, & 2025)
Lawmakers consider bill for state to pay for absentee ballot postage
Bill aimed at funding emergency rental program fails in committee
Healthcare
Healthcare is a human right. We have the means, as a country and state, to provide better health outcomes for our fellow Montanans. The health and happiness of our people are essential to the success of our state. Limiting access to a basic level of care is both cruel and unnecessary. Everyday Montanans should be able to keep their families healthy without worrying about crushing medical debt and bankruptcy.
Housing
Montanans deserve to live in the community in which they work. Areas where housing is available and affordable have much better economic prospects than those with limited options. Our state must enact housing policy that fosters a vibrant community and strong economy.
Public Lands
Public lands are a blessing and responsibility for all of us. We must ensure that public lands will benefit each of us — today AND tomorrow. They must be treated with respect and shared fairly, not reserved for the wealthy few. Privatizing public lands is theft from future generations.
Voting
Voting is an essential right of all American citizens and we must exercise and defend that right to remain a free and democratic nation. Voting for our leaders and government is fundamental to properly ensuring opportunity, justice, and human progress. Efforts to restrict any citizen's ability to vote directly threatens our freedom, liberty, and shared future.
Local Business
Local businesses provide goods and services with a much smaller burden on our shared infrastructure. Local food growers produce less waste and ensure resilience to external conflicts and shortages. Jobs created by local businesses keep money local and strengthen our communities by providing a prosperous culture and personal relationships that make us better neighbors.
The Internet
The internet is an essential part of our economy, our education, and our daily lives. It was funded and created with public money and should be treated like our interstate highway system or our national parks: we all share the upkeep and we all can utilize its many benefits. We must prevent a small number of people from extracting or exploiting this shared space, or America will fall behind the rest of the world in innovation, economy, and education. The Internet must be free, open, and neutral.
Government
A healthy government is free of corruption. Corporations aren't people. People are people, and their rights should be protected equally. Transparency, free elections, and shared common ethical standards ensure that our government serves those people. Until recently, Montana led the nation in combating corruption in politics and securing transparency in government, and we must recommit to those values.
Education
Providing all citizens a quality education is essential to having a successful and prosperous state and country — not to mention a right guaranteed to each person by our Montana Constitution. Public education is our best investment in American democracy and prosperity, so we must make sure its doors are open to all. We should ensure that continued education doesn’t bury our students in a lifetime of debt by supporting our universities and vocational schools.