Gianforte makes gubernatorial bid official

Technology entrepreneur Greg Gianforte put an end to the speculation and announced Wednesday that he is running to become the first Republican governor in Montana in more than a decade.

The Bozeman businessman launched his campaign with an event in Billings, the first stop in a two-day tour of the state to make his case against re-electing incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

He wrapped up his announcement day with an appearance in Kalispell on Wednesday evening.

“Ours will be a campaign of opportunity and potential,” Gianforte told an audience of 50 people at a Billings Peterbilt dealership.

He made clear that his campaign would focus on improving wages, which are among the lowest in the nation.

“Too many of our young people are leaving to find opportunities,” Gianforte said. “I want Montanans to have opportunities for high-wage jobs.”

While Gianforte focused on jobs during his announcement, he said his campaign also would touch on issues such as giving parents more say in their children’s education, making government more accountable and revamping the state’s health care system.

Gianforte, who sold his company, RightNow Technologies, to Oracle Corp. in 2012 for $1.8 billion, is widely considered the favorite to represent the GOP against Bullock. First, he will have to beat fellow Republican Brad Johnson, a former Montana secretary of state and now the Public Service Commission chairman, in the June 7 primary.

Johnson said he does not need Gianforte’s riches because he already has the name recognition that Gianforte wants to buy.

“I would bet a milkshake that if the Republican primary were held today, I would win very, very comfortably,” Johnson said Wednesday.

Gianforte has a clear fundraising advantage over Johnson, who has raised just $1,500 since announcing his exploratory campaign last year. Gianforte, by contrast, has raised more than $570,000.

Johnson said that if he raises $250,000 to $300,000 for the primary, he believes he will win.

Gianforte has been exploring a run for months after filing paperwork that has allowed him to raise and spend money since August. Democrats have been preparing for Gianforte’s entry into the race since then. They expect a spirited campaign that could receive national attention as Democrats try to hold on to a governorship in a generally conservative state.

Bullock is one of eight Democratic governors defending their seats this year, while Republicans are defending just four.

“I look forward to defending my record as governor,” Bullock said during a telephone interview, after discussing childhood hunger at Smith School in Helena, where the governor attended grade school.

“I don’t know what to expect from him,” Bullock said of Gianforte. “But I’m going to continue focusing on the good work we’ve been doing.”

A Republican has not been governor since one-term Gov. Judy Martz left office in 2005.

While fellow Republicans touted Gianforte as a successful high-tech entrepreneur with the know-how to power up the state’s economy, Democrats accused Gianforte of overstating the problems facing Montana.

Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at the Cook Political Report who is keeping an eye on gubernatorial races across the country, said Gianforte is an unknown quantity.

“We’re still waiting to see what kind of candidate Gianforte will be. ... It’s still unclear what he’s going to run on,” she said. “But somebody with that much money, you have to take him seriously.”

Gianforte declined to answer questions about how much of his personal fortune he would be pumping into his campaign.

He also made campaign stops Wednesday in Sidney and Lewistown. He plans to appear today in Great Falls, Helena, Missoula and Bozeman.