In the race for the state's 2nd Congressional District seat, Gary Buchanan is hoping to appeal to moderates in central and eastern Montana he says may feel unseen by polarized partisan politics.
The independent candidate on next month's ballot is positioning himself as an alternative to the two majority parties.
“You know, one weekend, Penny Ronning in Glendive was saying I'm a closet Republican, the same weekend Rosendale was saying I'm a closet Democrat," Buchanan said. "And my reaction to that is, 'Perfect. That's where I want to be.'“
Buchanan is running against against Libertarian Sam Rankin, Democrat Penny Ronning, and Republican incumbent Matt Rosendale for Montana's newly created 2nd U.S. House District; it's the first time in about 30 years the state will send two representatives to Congress.
Buchanan says when he first considered a campaign last March, he was on the fence. But something happened that convinced him to file as an independent on the last day he possibly could.
“When Mr. Rosendale voted against commending the police for saving the Capitol, and probably many lives from an insurrection, and then what finally tipped it over is when he was one of three in the Congress to vote against supporting Ukraine," Buchanan said.
From there, the campaign rallied a team of more than 450 signature gatherers to get Buchanan's name on the ballot.
“We turned in 15,000 plus signatures, and almost 14,000 of them were eventually verified," he said.
Buchanan has been endorsed by the Montana Sportsmen Alliance, Montana’s American Federation of Labor, and the Montana Federation of Public Employees – the state’s largest labor union.
Two of Buchanan’s biggest endorsements have come from Republican former Gov. Marc Raciot and Racicot’s one-time opponent in the race for governor, Democratic former state Rep. Dorothy Bradley.
The two have helped campaign for Buchanan at events around the state, including one last month in Billings.
“I've known Gary for a very long time," Racicot said. "I just think, by virtue of his character and his capacity to serve the people of Montana, well, that I want to place my confidence there.”
Speaking at the same event, Bradley called Buchanan a "problem solver."
"Now more than ever, we need problem solvers," she said. "You give him a chance. He examines a problem with a microscope, puts together a group that can solve it, and does it, and Gary could work with anybody."
Buchanan sees their shared endorsement as an indication of his widespread appeal. He believes many Montanans feel unrepresented by the current two-party system.
“What I hear at every door, and every meet and greet, people are really tired of partisan politics. In Montana, people are tired of politicians beating up on each other," he said. "They've been driven to be independents because of frustrations with their parties.”
Buchanan identifies as a lifelong independent. He previously served the state in various roles under six different governors. He chaired the Montana Board of Investments, the Banking Board and the Board of Crime Control, and assisted Racicot in creating the Department of Environmental Quality in 1995.
When asked what he hears from constituents as the biggest issue in Montana today, he says it’s a tie between inflation and women’s rights. Buchanan says he’ll draw on his long career in financial planning to be conservative with spending and combat inflation.
“We all thought that inflation was transitory. It has turned out that it's not," he said. "So the Federal Reserve and the country is in a real fight now to avoid going back to the 80s.
"I think right now that women's rights are up there with inflation, maybe even higher, as a dominant concern in Montana politics."
At a time when prominent Montana Republicans at the state and federal level are calling for restricted access to abortion, Buchanan is campaigning on his pro-choice stance and upholding Montana’s Constitution.
“I think we have the best constitution in Montana than any other state and that right to privacy is the critical part of it," he said. "At a national level, I find it ironic that the Republicans who were talking about moving it to the state level."
He calls U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks "harmful.
"If he's going to introduce a bill and take that federal role, then I would have no problem in voting to codify Roe [v.] Wade."
Buchanan knows that without a D or an R next to his name on the ballot he's fighting an uphill battle, but he says the time is right for an independent to shake things up.
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