(In the final days of an election, there is so much information from so many races, it's difficult to stay on top of every story and understand the subtle dynamics often at play on the ground. Thankfully, we have an expansive 50-state blogosphere to match our 50-state strategy. Over the last two weeks of the campaign, we've asked leaders of the state blogospheres to provide insight into late developments and share the stories of their states in a series we're calling "Listening to the Locals." SusanG)
Situated in the Rocky Mountains, Montana is one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. Still, politically, it's just a flyover state, with less than a million people, a single at-large representative in the House, and three Electoral College votes, right? Why fuss over Montana?
Because Montana's political environment is ideal for creating the Western Democrat. With a strong streak of libertarianism mixed with a heaping dash of economic populism, the state's electorate prefers Democrats that are outspoken, independent, and genuine. That, along with Montana's beautiful open spaces, creates progressive politicians with a strong conservation ethos, that champion individual civil liberties, and who defy conventional rhetoric when advocating for issues important to their state.
That's how we ended up with Senator Jon Tester and Governor Brian Schweitzer.
The state's been steadily bluing since 2004 when Schweitzer was elected governor, but it's not a done deal. While the top-tier races are close to settled -- Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer and Senator Max Baucus and Republican Representative Dennis Rehberg all enjoy healthy leads in polls against weak challengers -- there's still brawling over two political bodies crucial to Montana's future: the state legislature, and the Montana Land Board. And in a state where Barack Obama and John McCain are running neck-and-neck, the state Republican party has been pulling out all stops to win majorities on both bodies, including a recent and failed attempt to purge 6,000 voters from the rolls in heavily Democratic counties.
So, what's at stake?
The state legislature meets for 90 days every two years, during which time the state's two-year budget is presented, haggled over, and voted on. Last year, both the state House and the state Senate had one-seat majorities: the Senate, Democratic; and the House, Republican. It was a complete disaster, especially in the House, where a group of radical ideologues seized the leadership positions and essentially shut down negotiations over the state's budget. It ended in a tirade by Republican majority leader, Mike Lange. Not only does Montana education's future hang on the composition of the legislature, but it's possible Brian Schweitzer's political legacy does, too.
The five members of the Land Board -- the governor, state attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, and state superintendent -- oversee more than 5 million acres of public school trust land, setting policy for generating revenue through leases and land sales. That is, the Land Boards decides where and how much grazing, farming, mining, and drilling happens on Montana's public lands. State Republicans, with "drill, baby, drill" still fresh on their lips, want to wrest control of the board to give their extraction industry cronies another go at the public teat and at the cost of our environmental legacy. The state GOP even put up an oil man, Roy Brown, to oppose Schweitzer for the governor's chair. At stake is the environmental and energy future of the state and possibly the West, if not the nation: do we harvest Montana's plains for wind, and the state's cheatgrass for cellulosic biofuels? Or do we drill for oil and mine for coal?
This year, because of term limits, there are dozens of seats in contention. At Left in the West, we've identified the "battleground" seats in both the House and Senate, where the composition of the legislature will likely be decided. We've written profiles of each race for sixteen House races (part 1, part 2, and part 3) and nine Senate races (part 1 and part 2), and actively fundraised for those seats. Likewise, we've written about the Land Board elections and created a fundraising page for the statewide candidates who sit on the board.
In Montana, with its inexpensive media costs, a little money goes a long way. These candidates need your attention to battle the last minute onslaught of negative ads the Republicans and their allies will throw at these races. Even a five-dollar donation helps. Here are the links:
-- Montana's battleground House races, parts 1, 2, and 3; projections; Left in the West's ActBlue House races page.
-- Montana's battleground Senate races, parts 1 and 2; projections; Left in the West's ActBlue Senate races page.
-- Left in the West's ActBlue statewide races page.
Below the fold, I've highlighted six candidates for the Land Board and state legislature that exemplify the races I've talked about in this post. These six are in the most crucial races for the state. If you don't have time to wade through all the posts we've written about Montana's elections, check out these six races. And help out, if you can.
Cheryl Steenson, candidate for House District 8
Steenson's website
Steenson is a 27-year-old adjunct English professor at Flathead Valley Community College. According to the Flathead Beacon, she grew up in the Flathead Valley in a "right-leaning family." Her grandfather – a "dyed-in-the-wool Republican," is her treasurer. She’s running on a platform of affordable health care, fully funded public education, and an equitable tax system.
Craig Witte, the incumbent, is a Kalispell restaurant owner who won his seat by 37 votes in 2006. Witte was an eager participant in last session’s Republican acrimony; he’s also an outspoken climate-change denier.
Brittany MacLean, candidate for Senate District 2
MacLean's website.
MacLean is a widow and a mother of four, who won somewhat of an upset in the primary. According to a Missoulian report, MacLean attributes her success in the primary to her work on the doors and talking with voters face-to-face. The Flathead Beacon: "MacLean holds a degree in nonprofit management from New York's New School, and has established family health centers in Alaska. She is focused on preventive healthcare policy, and is interested in legislation, modeled after a California program, that would make it easier for workers to get paid leave to care for sick family members."
MacLean's opponent, Ryan Zinke is a GOP golden boy. He's a football star turned war hero - a Navy SEAL awarded two Bronze Stars for his action in Iraq. He's running as a self-proclaimed "Teddy Roosevelt Republican," which to him means cutting taxes for business, not protecting ordinary citizens from big conglomerations. He's been trying to depict himself as a moderate in favor of the current spending and taxation status quo, but he veers far to the right is in his stance towards disability and unemployment insurance - which he promises to "reform" - and on health insurance - where he prefers the status quo of private insurers, and where he wants government out of, altogether. (So much for SCHIP?)
Monica Lindeen, candidate for state auditor
Lindeen's website.
Lindeen is a former state legislator who toured the state in a green biodisel bus during her 2006 unsuccessful bid to unseat Dennis Rehberg from his House seat. In this race for auditor -- the position that oversees insurance regulation and investigates securities fraud -- Lindeen promises to be on the side of consumers against the insurance industry.
Her Republican opponent, Duane Grimes, is a free-market enthusiast whose plan for insurance regulation is to improve the business environment in the state to encourage insurers to do business here. Sounds suspiciously like someone who for reducing regulation for an industry that has proven that it needs zealous policing.
(Check out the Left in the West questionnaire Lindeen answered for us.)
Lane Larson, candidate for Senate District 22
Larson's website
The marquee matchup of the 2008 Senate races, and probably the race where the most money will be spent.
Larson is a key member of the state Senate, that body's Majority Whip in the last legislative session. He's an electrician and strong union member who believes strongly in well-funded education, living wages for Montana's workers, affordable health care, and the preservation of our state's fishing and hunting areas.
Brown is the owner of the Northern Broadcasting System, the right-wing talk station that gave Montana Dave Berg and Dave Rye, two of the most divisive and partisan political provocateurs in the state. Worse yet, Brown is a protégé of Conrad Burns and a possible Burns clone. He's going to try to take the Senate seat the old fashioned way - by buying it.
Brown's the usual sort of conservative, touting lower taxes for rich folks and corporations - education be d*mned, health care crisis be d*mned, Montanans be d*mned. In fact, this race makes my blood boil, because here we've got the old Republican swindle in action, the luring of blue-collar workers into conservative camps through the liberal use of cowboy hats and easy-talkin' good-ol-boy chatter, all the while working on issues destructive to working- and middle-class families. The irony in this race is that Lane Larson is a working man, an electrician by trade. And if Larson loses this race, it won't be because of where he stands on the issues, or how he's done as a legislator, but because some honey-tongued hat-wearing rich dude outspent him in the election.
Denise Juneau, candidate for superintendent of public instruction
Juneau's website.
The daughter of educators and a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, she was a teacher in Browning before winning a fellowship to the Harvard School of Education where she received a graduate degree in Education, after which she got her law degree at the University of Montana. Juneau is currently Director of Indian Education office in the office of public instruction.
Juneau's a passionate advocate for public schooling -- an issue that's not taken for granted in a state where the radical right doesn't believe that government should be involved in educating children. In fact, the House Republican leadership during the last session of the state legislature installed as Education committee chair a member of the far-right Constitution Party who is an outspoken opponent of public education. The next superintendent has to wrestle adequate school funding from a legislature that, if dominated by Republicans, might be hostile to her mission. And, on top of that, the next superintendent will need to be involved in restructuring the No Child Left Behind Act with the new federal administration.
(You can listen or read the transcript of a lengthy interview Left in the West had with Juneau.)
In short, Juneau has the experience, the background, and the intelligence to handle perhaps one of the hardest jobs in Montana, to fight for and adequately fund the education of Montana's children.
That's in stark contrast to her Republican opponent, Elaine Sollie Herman who not only has no administrative experience, but left teaching over 20 years ago. Her first issue listed on her website (which speaks for itself, eh?) is the Land Board, where she argues for throwing open Montana lands to oil and coal exploration. Herman's claim to fame in state political circles is that she once joked the best way to deal with problem students is to "shoot them." So at least her Second Amendment credentials are in order.
Steve Bullock, candidate for state attorney general
Bullock's website.
Bullock's been embroiled in the toughest fight of all the statewide elections this year, against Republican opponent Tim Fox.
Fox essentially has been stoking the fears of Montanans by invoking the specter of child predation and promising to protect the gun rights of Montanans. For one, Fox has been campaigning all summer on the claim that the current state attorney general -- a Democrat -- neglected to post pictures of sex offenders on the state's website -- only Fox claim was completely overblown. Only four sex offender registries out of over a thousand aren't accompanied by a picture. So then Fox turned to guns, claiming his opponent doesn't care about Montanans' gun rights. All of which culminated in a recent tv spot in which the Fox campaign incorrectly cited Left in the West, claiming that Steve Bullock is "against the death penalty" -- only he's not, and that never appeared on our blog.
You get the picture. You can read all our posts on that brouhaha and others in the state attorney general's race at Left in the West.
Meanwhile, Bullock has been staying classy, touting his previous experience in the state attorney general's office, quietly listing off the endorsements of prosecutors, police officers, and current attorney general administrators. Bullock also promises a progressive approach to the office of attorney general, promising to expand the office's reach into consumer protection. On the Land Board, Bullock's conservationist bonafides will benefit the state's push for turning to alternative energy sources over a straight diet of oil drilling and coal mining.
You can also listen to, or read the transcript of, an interview Bullock conducted with Left in the West back in May.
Read: Left in the West
Give: MT House, MT Senate, MT Statewide