Theresa Manzella
Member of the Montana Senate
from the 44th district
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
Preceded byFred Thomas
Member of the Montana House of Representatives
from the 85th district
In office
January 5, 2015 – January 4, 2021
Preceded byGordon Pierson
Succeeded byMichele Binkley
Personal details
Born (1964-11-26) November 26, 1964
Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKen

Theresa Manzella (born November 26, 1964)[1] is an American politician. She serves as a Republican member of the Montana Senate, representing District 44 since January 2021. From 2015 to 2021, she served in the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 85, which included parts of Hamilton, Montana.[1][2]

Career

According to her official biography, Theresa Manzella was formerly employed at Pontiac Motors headquarters and from 1985 to 1990 as a supervisor at Electronic Data Systems. She has also been the owner of TNT Paints & Performance Horses since 1992 and was the founder of Willing Servants, Inc.[1]

In the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Manzella supported Ted Cruz and, after Ted Cruz dropped out of the race, Donald Trump.[3] Manzella ran for the Montana Senate in 2020. In the Republican primary, she faced fellow representative Nancy Ballance, with Manzella reported to be the more conservative of two candidates.[4] Manzella won the primary, earning 63% of the vote in the primary and subsequently won the general election.[5]

In the Montana Legislature, Manzella has been aligned with the right-wing faction of the state Republican Party (who called themselves "38 Specials" in reference to the bullet cartridge of that name), which has clashed with comparatively moderate Republicans (the "Solutions Caucus") who joined with Democrats on some issues.[6][7] Manzella opposed the 2018 Medicaid expansion bill in Montana, and accused Republicans who supported it of betrayal because the citizens had voted Medicaid Expansion down as a ballot initiative in 2018.[6][7]

In the 2019 Montana Legislature, Manzella sponsored a bill (HB 575) that would have eliminated almost all childhood vaccine requirements for day care centers for those who claimed a religious objection.[8]

In a 2018 post on the Ravalli County Republicans' Facebook group, Manzella claimed that the local schoolteachers' union, MEA-MFT, was, "working against our constitution and for socialism and communism."[9] The co-president of the local union responded that Manzella's claims were false and slanderous.[9] State Senate candidate Jason Ellsworth, a fellow Republican, also criticized Manzella's remarks.[10]

In 2023, Manzella was elected as Chair of the Montana Freedom Caucus and has been open about her anti-gay and transphobic opinions. In 2021, Manzella said that LGBTQ+ people brought violence on themselves because of "their choice to live a perverse lifestyle",[11] including actions such as holding hands in public.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Representative Theresa Manzella's Biography". votesmart. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Name : THERESA MANZELLA (R)". The Montana Legislature. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  3. ↑ Bobby Caina Calvan, Click to copy Donald Trump poses tough decisions for Montana GOP stalwarts, Associated Press (July 7, 2016).
  4. ↑ Sakariassen, Alex (May 22, 2020). "Purity versus pragmatism". Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ Backus, Perry (November 3, 2020). "Republicans sweep record-setting election in Ravalli County". Ravalli Republic. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Iris Samuels, Incumbents ousted in primaries amid competing GOP factions, Associated Press (June 5, 2020).
  7. 1 2 Eric Dietrich, When the 'Solutions Caucus' did-and didn't-vote with Dems, Montana Free Press (May 5, 2019).
  8. ↑ Holly K. Michels, House defeats three bills that would have loosened vaccine rules, Missolulian (February 28, 2019).
  9. 1 2 Perry Backus, Lawmaker's claim that teachers' union supports communism like a punch "in the gut",Ravalli Republic (March 8, 2018).
  10. ↑ Perry Backus, Ellsworth, GOP candidate in Senate Dist. 43 primary, explains FTC case that cost him $600,000, Ravalli Republic (May 30, 2018).
  11. ↑ Politician Says Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks Are Due to 'Perverse Lifestyle', Advocate (November 19, 2021)
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