Joe Barnett

Barnett was born in the Horseshoe Hills, north of Manhattan, Montana. He was the son of Joseph William and Francis (née Kelly) Barnett, and he was orphaned by the age of eight. He was raised in Manhattan, and attended Montana State College, earning a bachelor's degree in physical education. He married Janelle Stitt in 1949, and they remained married until her death in 2021. He served in the U.S. Air Force, then was hired by Bozeman High School in 1956 as a history teacher and coach, earned a master's degree in administration from Montana State, and taught until 1984. In 1963, he and his wife purchased a beekeeping business, which would grow into his fulltime profession.^[1]

In 1990, Barnett ran for the Montana House of Representatives, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Vernon Westlake.^[2] He was re-elected with ease four times, then in 2000, he was term-limited and decided to run for a seat in the Montana Senate. He lost that election to fellow state representative Emily Swanson.^[3][4] He died at his home in Belgrade, Montana, on January 5, 2025, at the age of 95.^[1]

Montana House of Representatives, District 76, 1990 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett	1,192	100
Total votes			1,192	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 76, 1990 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett	1,933	52.2
	Democratic	Vernon Westlake *	1,771	47.8
Total votes			3,704	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 76, 1992 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	1,288	100
Total votes			1,288	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 76, 1992 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	3,656	73.8
	Democratic	Sean R. Knight	1,298	26.2
Total votes			4,954	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1994 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	1,096	100
Total votes			1,096	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1994 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	2,923	75.7
	Democratic	Lorene L. Blakely	939	24.3
Total votes			3,862	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1996 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	1,358	100
Total votes			1,358	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1996 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	3,889	81.6
	Democratic	Bob Roughton	875	18.4
Total votes			4,764	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1998 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	749	100
Total votes			749	100

Montana House of Representatives, District 32, 1998 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett *	3,434	100
Total votes			3,434	100

Montana Senate, District 15, 2000 primary election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Barnett	703	100
Total votes			703	100

Montana Senate, District 15, 2000 general election
* denotes incumbent     Source:^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emily Swanson	3,853	59.5
	Republican	Joe Barnett	2,618	40.5
Total votes			6,471	100