Busse, Graybill make pitch to Kalispell voters as Montana governor's race heads into final stretch

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse on Monday laid out plans to bolster the state’s wildlife agency, address climate change and work with a GOP-controlled Legislature all the while criticizing Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s record in Helena.

Busse, who also pledged to increase government transparency, outlined his platform alongside his running mate Raph Graybill at a town hall-style meeting at the Kalispell Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2522, the first in a series of similar gatherings planned across the state.  

“I want to really underscore the point that [Busse] made about us valuing being open,” Graybill said. “We have this really great constitution in Montana ... there’s lots of really important rights there. But the basic insight of that constitution, is that when government is open, when government is transparent, it’s more accountable to the people.” 

The Gianforte administration, according to Busse, has been neither transparent nor honest with the public throughout the past four years.  

A spokesperson for Gianforte disputed that assertion on Tuesday. 

“Contrary to these outlandish claims, the governor is one of the most accessible public officials in the nation. To suggest otherwise is simply the politics of desperation in an election year,” Kaitline Price told the Daily Inter Lake.  

A Kalispell resident, Busse is a former firearms executive who has built his campaign around making Montana affordable for working residents and preserving abortion access. 

“This Montana, that I think we all know and love, I feel like it’s made me a better person. I feel like I owe it something,” Busse said to a crowd of about 70 people. “We want this to be a place where working people can afford to work here and live here ... I feel like all of that is in peril, all of it’s at risk.” 

For more than 90 minutes, Busse and Graybill took questions from attendees, touching on topics including public education, coal mining and women’s health care.  

Busse told attendees that, if elected, he would shore up Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, an agency he said used to be “shining star for wildlife management." Under Gianforte that changed, Busse argued, accusing the governor of pushing out top scientists and biologists.  

He cited the recent departure of Eileen Ryce, a fisheries expert who had been with the state agency for 21 years before resigning in 2024 after running afoul of department leadership, according to the Montana Free Press. 

Busse also took questions about natural resources and addressed climate change. He said that Montana should look at ways to harness alternative sources of energy, possibly by creating a small-scale nuclear project, citing a Bill Gates-led effort to erect a nuclear power plant in Wyoming. 

He also criticized the Gianforte administration for overseeing the recent closure of the Pyramid Mountain Lumber mill closure, expressed support for expanding the state’s Medicaid program and advocated for ending taxation of Social Security payments. 

BUSSE AND Graybill also touted the benefits of divided government in Helena with a Democrat in the Governor’s Mansion and a GOP-led Legislature.  

Graybill pointed to the administration of former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock as an example.  

“The knowledge that the veto pen was held by somebody who is going to look at every single bill really closely had this natural effect. The zany, harebrained, dumb ideas, ideas to prove a point, kind of sunk to the bottom, because why would you waste your time with those things if they’re never going to pass?” Graybill said. “Good ideas came to the top, and as a result, the legislative session became much more focused.” 

The goal, if elected, would be to deal with the issues that affect Montanans — like cost of living and protecting public lands — rather than focusing on culture war issues. And there likely would be fewer laws headed to the courts for litigation, Graybill said.  

“What’s happening under Gianforte is the legislators and the lobbyists know that he will sign anything with a Republican stamp on it, doesn't matter what it says, doesn't matter what’s in it,” Graybill said.  

After the 2023 session, 804 laws were transmitted to Gianforte. He signed 767 of them into law and vetoed 22. Of the 22 vetoes, the Legislature overrode four.  

Graybill, a constitutional attorney with degrees from Columbia University, the University of Oxford and Yale Law School, has successfully challenged five of the laws passed by the 2023 Legislature. 

The 2021 legislative session, Gianforte’s first year in office, was the first time since 2003 that Republicans controlled both the Legislature and the governor’s office. The result, Busse and Graybill said, was a spate of conservative laws, many of them bound for the courtroom. 

“Divided government is such a powerful tool for filtering good ideas, that cannot be overstated,” Graybill said.  

DURING THE month of October, Busse will travel to Bozeman, Great Falls, Billings, Missoula, Butte and Helena to continue hosting town halls across the state. It is one of the last pushes on the campaign trail for the candidates ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. 

“If we really care about all the stuff that we say we care about, then fight like it. Campaign like it. And when we win, we govern like it,” Busse said to applause on Oct. 7. 

“We’re not running on running up the score on national political issues, this race is not about party labels, it's certainly not about national politics,” Graybill said. “It’s about saving a community that we love, that we care about, that we’re invested in and that is really hurting right now.” 

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.

    Ryan Busse, Democrat candidate for governor, spoke at a town hall in Kalispell on Oct. 7, 2024. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Democrat candidate for Lt. Gov. Raph Graybill spoke at a town hall in Kalispell on Oct. 7, 2024. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)