Democrats make final pitch in Kalispell stop

Montana’s top Democratic candidates kicked off a statewide campaign tour Wednesday, delivering get-out-the-vote speeches to supporters in Kalispell between similar stops in Pablo and Browning.

Montana’s current Superintendent of Public Instruction, Denise Juneau, is the Democratic candidate for the state’s only U.S. House seat. Speaking to about 50 Democratic volunteers and supporters gathered at the party’s Main Street headquarters in Kalispell, she touted her record as the state’s top school official and pointed to the state’s increased graduation rates over her nearly eight years in office.

Juneau also took several shots at Republican incumbent Rep. Ryan Zinke, criticizing his votes on Capitol Hill as being in step with proposals to transfer federal public lands to the state.

“He is always looking out for himself, he has not done the job Montana elected him to do, and we’re going to take back our seat,” Juneau said, drawing a round of applause from the gathered supporters.

She also noted the historic potential of her candidacy to become the first Native American U.S. Representative, connecting her campaign to Montana’s former Rep. Jeannette Rankin, who in 1916 became the first woman elected to Congress.

“You know what her stance was? Equal pay, 100 years ago,” Juneau said, adding that if elected, “I’m going to get that done.”

Gov. Steve Bullock, running for reelection to the state’s top public office, also lobbed criticism at his Republican opponent, Greg Gianforte, who Democrats have sought to paint as a millionaire out of touch with ordinary Montanans. On public lands, Bullock reiterated his charge that Gianforte had sued the state to block public access to his property, and criticized the Republican candidate’s donations to a group that fought against the Disclose Act last legislative session.

“Not since the Copper Kings have we seen someone trying to buy the election like Greg Gianforte is,” Bullock said, referring to the more than $5 million his opponent has sunk into his own campaign. “Elections are to be decided by each and every one of the folks like you and me, and not by millionaires and corporations.”

The campaign stop also included stump speeches by the three other Democratic candidates for statewide office.

Secretary of State candidate Monica Lindeen, who has held the position of state auditor for the last eight years, reminded the crowd that a single vote can make the difference, as was the case when a state House race in Lake County ended in a tie in 2004.

She promised to fight for Montanans’ voting rights if elected to the Secretary of State post and added that her position on the Montana Land Board would ensure public access rights are protected on the state’s 5 million acres of public lands.

“If we change the direction of the land board, that is at stake. Public access is at stake in Montana,” Lindeen said.

Her chief legal counsel in the auditor’s office, Jesse Laslovich, is the Democratic candidate to succeed Lindeen as the new state auditor. With 10 years’ experience in the state Legislature and more than seven years working under Lindeen, Laslovich said his passion lies in protecting consumers and helping victims of fraud.

“It’s not just about wanting to do the work, but knowing how to it,” Laslovich said in an interview before the event. He pointed to his work on a bill endorsed by the Economic Affairs Interim Committee in August, which would reform the way air ambulance providers are reimbursed by insurance companies.

He also contrasted himself with his Republican opponent, Sen. Matt Rosendale, R-Glendive, on how he would vote as a one of the state land board’s five members. Laslovich said that unlike his opponent, he would oppose efforts to transfer federal public lands to the state.

Running to succeed Juneau as state superintendent is Democrat Melissa Romano, a Helena School District teacher and Presidential Award recipient for math and science instruction. In an interview, she said that if elected, she would push for publicly funded pre-kindergarden education and an inflationary increase in special education funding.

“A huge concern for me is school infrastructure and school buildings,” she added. Romano said she would work across the aisle during the next legislative session to include funds for public schools in an infrastructure spending bill.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.