It took four ballots, but beloved Montana musician and supporter of the arts has won the Democratic nomination for Montana’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The third ballot came down to three great candidates. Besides Quist, two experienced state legislators, Amanda Curtis and Kelly McCarthy showed themselves to be highly organized and ready to hit the campaign trail fast and early.
McCarthy served in the Air Force and the U.S. Intelligence community, and is popular in the all-important Yellowstone County, his home district.
Curtis, a popular teacher from Butte, is highly regarded as a dynamic, active voice in the legislature, and was nominated for Senate at Montana’s last special election but lost to Steve Daines. She is known for posting nightly Youtube videos to keep Montanans up on what is happening in the state legislature.
This is Quist’s first dive into running for office, but he is perhaps the best known name of the entire Democratic slate of eight that faced convention voters. Quist has visited every corner of the state multiple times as a uniquely Montana musician since the 1970s, much of that with the Mission Mountain Wood Band. In 2004, he and another treasured musician, Blackfeet tribal member Jack Gladstone, created the Oddyssey West traveling show. This show and its cd taught a generation of Montanans the basics of Montana history (Sacagewea, In Search of York, Lewis and Clark Rag for example) and values (America, Pass It On, She’s Been Called a Lady) in tunes you can’t get out of your head. Quist was appointed by two different governors (and R and a D) to the Montana Arts Council, and served as the state’s cultural ambassador to Japan. His commitment to arts education and anti-bullying campaigns throughout the state has been phenomenal.
Montana Democrats were blessed to have a terrific slate of enthusiastic and smart candidates step up and offer their service in congress for our state. Any one of them would have done us proud.
One of Rob Quist’s strengths will be how well he knows the state and its people, and can talk with them directly about what really matters right here to everyone from old hippies to old ranchers and young students to middle-aged farmers and miners. He is well-known and well-liked and it will be hard for his opponent to besmirch him.
May 25 special election, HERE WE COME!!!