Home: Born and raised in Helena
Family: Husband and five children
Occupation: Secretary of State
Education: Capital High School, Helena, BA Carroll College, Helena, Master’s Public Administration, Missoula
Contact information for voters: info@ christijacobsen.com
1. My administration has developed the strongest relationship with county partners in decades. That is what the county election officials survey information reported to the legislature last month said, and we’ve worked hard and delivered for Montana by building a united Montana Elections Team. From personal visits by myself and members of the team to courthouses around the state to focus on the uniqueness of each community, to a world class elections training, and unprecedented outreach to voters—the Montana Elections Team is working with momentum because of our intentional efforts to ensure Montana’s elections set the national bar.
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2. As Secretary of State, I led and streamlined unprecedented reform and registered a historic number of businesses in the state. Now, filings are completely electronic, filed 24/7, from any device— while providing exceptional customer service to the business community. I’ve successfully cut red tape, including eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic processes and fees from the office, reducing the steps involved for every business filing, and massively expedited the process for our customers, turning them around at record speed. Most importantly, through hard work, we’ve cut fees for Montana businesses in half and waived annual fees.
3. Montana is a red state that is adamant about limited government, while also fiercely independent. Most Montanans I talk to enjoy not having to register by party. At the same time, I feel for those who are upset by the political warfare played through crossover gamesmanship. When it comes to evaluating primary policy proposals, the devil is always in the details, and I would have to thoroughly review what is proposed to make a decision. Most Montanans enjoy our current system, but I recognize that there are instances where it is abused unfairly.
4. The Secretary of State’s Office operates as an enterprise fund. No taxpayer dollars are used for funding. The office is run like a business, efficiently, doing more with less by providing exceptional service to the Montana business community. As your Secretary of State, I have cut new business filing fees in half, waived annual report filing fees, eliminated numerous bureaucratic fees all together, and intend to continue to look for opportunities to further reduce fees. The number of employees in the office has been reduced by half, while providing exceptional service. The business community grades my performance an “A+”.
5. Managing our state lands is near and dear to my heart because my family is a product of public schools and public land users. I fight for public access, properly funding our schools, responsible development of our natural resources, and protecting private property rights. I am proud of my work with timber and agriculture industries to protect our way of life. I have delivered by creating hundreds of thousands of new public land acres to recreate on, delivered access to landlocked lands for backcountry hunters, and prime fishing access locations for generations to enjoy God’s beauty in this state.
Occupation: small business owner
Education: Studied journalism at the University of Wyoming
Contact information for voters: jessejamesmullen.com
1. The credibility of our elections is undermined by Montana’s current Secretary of State using misinformation to play national political games. Republican and Democrat election officials across Montana run the most secure elections in America. My opponent used public dollars to distribute fake voting information in 2022. She is suing to limit voter access and disenfranchise Montana’s youth and Tribes by promoting unconstitutional bills from the legislature. I spent my career holding politicians accountable. I will continue to prioritize accurate and timely information and highlight the achievements of Montana’s dedicated local officials.
2. Customer service is lacking and needed. I built customer service centers for some of the largest media companies in the US. State employees must be capable, competent, and accessible to the public. Our state will work again for Montana’s small-business owners, not the out-of-state mega-corporations and tech bros dodging California taxes. Montanans don’t need special rules for small businesses, but we do need a registration system that works and acknowledges Montana’s locally-owned businesses are the backbone of Main Street.
3. Montanans vote for the person, not the party. I support giving Montanans a real choice in primary elections. Partisan candidates will be accountable to all Montanans if they want to use public resources for ballot access. Montana’s Independents are a fast-growing segment of the population, and parties won’t get special rules to play by while forcing Montanans to join an organization they don’t support. Yes, I support open primaries. With both major parties against open primaries, I think that’s a good argument in favor.
4. The Secretary of State overcharged Montana businesses and refused to issue refunds without making Montanans jump through hoops. Businesses have to sue to fix known issues her department ignores, costing Montanans. The public shouldn’t have to pay to defend an executive who won’t do the job. I put Montanans first. That means better information for our small business owners and support from the Secretary of State’s office to allow them to file without hiring expensive third-party organizations. And plain and simple, some people still like to pay by check.
5. I spent my career holding politicians accountable. Our public land is Montana’s greatest investment, and I take the caretaker role for our land seriously. I will hold the Land Board accountable to Montanans and be a critical check and balance for a partisan board more interested in pleasing donors and lobbyists than protecting Montana’s future. I’m not running for Secretary of State to work for the Governor or lobbyists. I’m running to serve as a caretaker for our public lands for the public and future generations.
