Wilmer was born in 1950 in Washington, D.C. to Marion and Bud Wilmer. Her father was a bricklayer from Baltimore and her mother was a nurse from Terry, Montana and Denton, Maryland. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was a single mother raising her one daughter, while working various jobs and earning three college degrees. Her jobs during this decade include waitress, carpenter, middle school substitute teacher, assistant professor, and research assistant. She graduated with a B.S. in political science and economics from Shepherd University in 1981. She got a master's degree in political science, specializing in international relations, from the University of Maryland in 1985 and a PhD in 1990. After earning her degrees, she became an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg for a year. In 1991, she was then hired by Montana State University and still teaches there today. That same year, she was a co-founder of the Gallatin Human Rights Task Force. She became an Associate Professor in 1996 and Full Professor and Head of the Political Science Department in 2001.
Early political career
She has written three books, numerous articles, and been invited to be guest lecturer across the world. She conducted field research in Yugoslavia during the war and Dayton Peace Accords. In 2005, Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer appointed her to become Chair the Montana Human Rights Commission, where she served for one year.
In 2006, incumbent Democratic State Representative Larry Jent, of Montana's 64th House District, decided to retire to run for a seat in the Montana House of Representatives. Wilmer decided to run and won the June Democratic primary with 72% of the vote. In the general election, she defeated Jim Klug 57%-43%. She won re-election in 2008 with 59% of the vote and 2010 with 55% of the vote.
Tenure
She was elected to as Speaker Pro Tempore of the legislature in 2009. The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation-Montana Council selected her as "Legislator of the Year" in 2011. She is currently the Legislative Liaison to the Board of investments.
House State Administration and Veterans Affairs Committee
House Capital Financial Advisory Committee
Legislative Liaison to Montana Board of Investments
House Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Committee, Vice Chair 2013
2012 congressional election
In February 2011, Wilmer was the first candidate from either party to announce her candidacy for Montana's At-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. Wilmer was endorsed by the National Women's Political Caucus She finished second in the Democratic primary, with 14,836 votes.
