Republican Lukas Schubert and Democrat Beth Sibert Compete to Represent Evergreen in House District 8 Race
After ousting former State Rep. Tony Brockman in the primary race, 19-year-old Schubert is running on a campaign centered on an ultraconservative Republican philosophy while 43-year-old Sibert subscribes to traditional Democratic ideals
By Maggie Dresser
In a race to represent Evergreen in House District 8, 43-year-old Democrat Beth Sibert will face Republican Lukas Schubert, a 19-year-old who ousted former State Rep. Tony Brockman during a competitive primary last spring.
Both political newcomers, Sibert and Schubert are vying for Brockman’s seat, which he lost after serving his freshman term in the 2023 Legislative Session.
Since graduating from Glacier High School in 2023, Schubert now studies at Flathead Valley Community College and serves on the Flathead County Transportation Advisory Committee and the Flathead County Republican Central Committee.
Schubert is running on a campaign that centers around his ultraconservative Catholic identity with goals of cutting property taxes, cracking down on immigration, and limiting things like judiciary power, access to abortion and transgender healthcare.
“We need to get back to God,” Schubert said. “This country was founded on Christian principles, and we need to get back to that.”
If elected, Schubert will push for judges to be permitted to run with partisan labels in Montana, a state that has historically held strictly non-partisan judicial elections. He described the lack of partisan labels as “insanely corrupt” and says some judges need to be impeached.
To combat high housing costs, Schubert says property taxes need to be cut, retirees should receive tax relief and the state needs to “bring logging back.” Additionally, he believes most non-U.S. citizens – except certain Canadian residents – should be barred from owning property as a way to keep more homes available to Montana residents.
“We are being exploited by foreign entities and it needs to stop,” Schubert said.
As a believer in choice surrounding education, Schubert says there should be more competition among schools and the “state’s iron grip and monopoly on the public school system” needs to be broken. While he says choices are important in public schools, he is adamantly against choice when it comes to abortion access and says the volume of pregnancies that pose a threat to the mother’s life is exaggerated by Democrats.
“The reality is, abortion is killing thousands of children in our state and it’s no good,” Schubert said.
Referencing the overall healthcare system, Schubert acknowledges that costs are too high, but he believes there are “serious concerns” with Medicaid and says it incentivizes individuals to earn less money to remain eligible.
Schubert is backed by Montana House Speaker Matt Regier, as well as a number of high-profile local Republicans.
Raised in Kalispell, Sibert works as a therapist at Logan Health and is a proponent of abortion access. If elected, she would support Medicaid expansion while working to help mental health providers grow their services following several closures in recent years.
“We need more outpatient wraparound services, we need more housing for people with disabilities and we need more providers,” Sibert said “Right now, there are long waitlists, and we need to make it so that the providers can get the reimbursement rate.”
Sibert also believes teachers need higher wages and funding should be adjusted at the state level to be funneled toward things like infrastructure repair instead of relying on levies and bonds.
Per her campaign website, the Democrat believes in protecting “the rights of Montana’s minorities” and celebrating “diversity in our communities,” as well as decreasing property taxes.
While Schubert supports cutting property taxes, Sibert said she will follow the Montana Democrats’ approach to reducing taxes on primary residences of middle home values while making “owners of multi-million-dollar mansions pay their fair share.”
“I think politics should be about electing the best person for the job – electing someone who is from Montana and understands the issues for Montanans,” Sibert said. “My opponent talks about property taxes when he has not owned a home or paid property taxes.”
Sibert has been endorsed by the Montana Federation of Public Employees, anti-gun violence organization Moms Demand Action and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana.