Kristen Juras ( Gustafson; born October 16, 1955) is an American politician, businesswoman, attorney, and law professor who has been serving as the 37th lieutenant governor of Montana since 2021 as a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Born in Conrad, Montana, Juras graduated from Conrad High School in 1973. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

in 1977 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...

in 1982.

Career

Juras entered private practice in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

before returning to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

in 1988. She works as an adjunct law professor at the

Alexander Blewett III School of Law The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. Its name was changed from the University of Montana Law School to its current name ...

. Juras ran for the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court w ...

seat vacated by Patricia O'Brien Cotter in 2016. She advanced to the general election, losing to Dirk Sandefur. In March 2020, then-Congressman

Greg Gianforte Gregory Richard Gianforte ( ; born April 17, 1961) is an American politician, businessman, and software engineer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representativ ...

, selected Juras as his running mate in the 2020 Montana gubernatorial election. They won their party's nomination in the Republican primary, and faced incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Mike Cooney Michael R. Cooney (born September 3, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 36th lieutenant governor of Montana from 2016 to 2021. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives (1977–1981), as the Secretary of State ...

and Montana Representative Casey Schreiner in the November general election. Gianforte and Juras won the election, and were sworn into office on January 4, 2021. In June 2022, Juras served as acting governor while Gianforte was out of the country, and declared a state of emergency regarding

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

near Red Lodge, Montana. Gianforte and Juras were reelected to a second term in 2024.

Personal life

Juras and her husband John have three sons. Her younger brother is country musician Wylie Gustafson.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Juras, Kristen 1955 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Montana politicians Lieutenant governors of Montana Montana lawyers Montana Republicans People from Conrad, Montana University of Georgia School of Law alumni University of Montana alumni University of Montana faculty Women in Montana politics