Corin Cates-Carney: Ed, How many candidates are running?
Edward Obrien: Five names will appear on primary ballots - two Republicans, one Democrat and two Libertarians. Although one of the Libertarians has unofficially dropped out and is not campaigning. More on that in just a few minutes.
Corin Cates-Carney: Let’s start with the incumbent, Republican Ryan Zinke.
Edward Obrien: Zinke is by now a very familiar name in Montana politics. He served as a Navy SEAL and cut his political teeth in 2009 when he was elected to Montana’s state senate. A few years later he won his first term to the U.S House. At that time Montana was an ‘at-large’ district.
Corin Cates-Carney: And he left that position after being tapped for President Donald Trump’s cabinet?
Edward Obrien: Right, in 2017 Trump tapped him Interior Secretary. That lasted a couple of years until his resignation following a string of ethical scandals. Two years ago he defeated Democrat Monica Tranel in a tighter-than-expected race for another two-year term, this time representing the 16 counties making up Montana’s newly reapportioned western district.
Corin Cates-Carney: Why does he want to be reelected?
Edward Obrien: I wanted to ask him that very question face-to-face, but unfortunately Congressman Zinke’s campaign declined -without explanation - my interview requests. Zinke was recently on the university of Montana campus, where our studio is, for a fundraising event. I reached out to see if I could have a few minutes of his time. His communications team said it wasn’t going to work out.
Corin Cates-Carney: So what do we know?
Edward Obrien: Zinke did complete our written questionnaire detailing his experience and priorities and that will soon be available on our website at MTPR.org.
That said, his remarks at the Montana GOP Winter Kickoff event last February give us some insight:
Ryan Zinke speech tape: ‘We need to incentivize doing things right in the country. There’s a right and a wrong and when this administration incentivizes doing things wrong then we become what we are – we’re a nation that’s not respected.”
Edward Obrien: Zinke told the crowd he didn’t think the Biden administration has done anything right. He says the southern border is unsecured, fentanyl is freely flowing into this country, housing costs are skyrocketing, inflation is high , adding the administration will be remembered for a series of unforced foreign policy errors. Zinke then waded into conflicts over cultural values:
Ryan Zinke speech tape: “The values we grew up with about boys playing boys sports and girls playing girls’ sports- and all of a sudden you have the military paying for sex change operations and hormone therapy for new recruits? I wouldn’t have believed it unless I ran it down. It’s true and the VA pays for it. We’ve normalized the abnormal. Enough’s enough.”
Edward Obrien: According to the Veteran Affairs website: gender confirming surgery cannot be performed or funded by the VA. It does pay for hormone therapy and post and pre-op care.
Corin Cates-Carney: That’s for that context Ed. And Zinke’s camping didn’t make him available for an interview so you weren’t able to follow up with him on any of those points in more depth. Zinke’s primary challenger is Republican Mary Todd of Kalispell.
Edward Obrien: Correct. Todd is a retired pastor and businesswoman who unsuccessfully tried to clinch the Republican nomination for the U.S House race two years ago. On her social media, Todd describes herself as both a – "Proud Montanan and Unapologetic America First Conservative".
Corin Cates-Carney: How does she define ‘America First Conservative’ and what does it mean to be unapologetic about it?
Edward Obrien: I don’t know. Todd neither completed our questionnaire nor did she respond to my interview requests. She did, however, sit down two years ago with MTPR Statehouse Reporter, Shaylee Ragar. Todd said in that interview she admired Republican congressman Matt Rosendale and, in this clip, her hope to end government corruption:
Mary Todd archive tape : “I would like to bring to the forefront and examine why congresspeople go into office and come out a lot richer than they go in. there's a lot of money to be had. And we need to understand as Americans where this money's coming from and why”
Corin Cates-Carney: There is one Democrat running for Montana’s U.S House Seat.
Edward Obrien: Yes, there is. And depending on the outcome of the Republican primary, we might be looking at a rematch between Ryan Zinke and that unopposed Democrat - Monica Tranel. I caught up with Tranel on the campaign trail in Missoula stumping for votes in a grocery store parking lot. Here's a tiny sample of a random conversation she had with Patrick Todd, a former director of a homeless shelter.
Patrick Todd: Middle income people ending up homeless is a tragedy.
Monica Tranel: Right. We can do better.
Edward Obrien: Tranel tells me housing consistently ranks top of mind among voters across the western district.
Monica Tranel: Teachers are leaving the state. I have a daughter in high school. They're having bigger and bigger English classes. In Florence, they're teaching math online. They're teaching science online. I mean, we are losing our middle class, working class, demographic. And we have to stop that.
Corin Cates-Carney: What are her ideas to make housing a little more affordable?
Edward Obrien: Tranel says she’s kicking around a lot of ideas including one involving land trusts, which separates housing cost from the cost of the land.
Corin Cates-Carney: How much is Tranel in sync with the Biden Administration on key issues?
Edward Obrien: Tranel tells me more needs to be done to secure the southern border. She’s also skeptical of a Bureau of Land Management carbon sequestration project proposed for Carter County in southeast Montana.
Corin Cates-Carney: Ed, two years ago Tranel lost to Zinke by four points. She underperformed in some key areas including Butte-Silver Bow, Gallatin and Glacier County - home of the Blackfeet Nation. What’s different this time?
Edward Obrien: Tranel tells me she’s proud of her campaigning back in ‘22, but that she’s redoubling her ground game this time around.
And Corin, there's another possible game changer in Tranel’s arsenal this time around that wasn’t there two years ago: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; basically the Democrats’ national campaign arm
Corin Cates-Carney: It’s backing Tranel and they didn't last time?
Edward Obrien: Correct, D-Trip, as it’s also called, views Montana’s western district House race as competitive, and the seat flippable. So it's sending staff and cash to boost Tranel’s efforts. But exact details about the level of the support are sparse.
Corin Cates-Carney: Ed, there are two Libertarians whose names will appear on the ballot.
Edward Obrien: But only one is still interested in the job. Bozeman’s Ernie Noble tells MTPR he's dropped out of the race and is not actively campaigning.
That leaves Dennis Hayes of Townsend to court the Libertarian vote. Hayes, a retired builder and remodeler defines a Libertarian as someone who follows the Constitution and defends the rights of Americans
Dennis Hayes: The people deserve more than what they’re getting. When the government takes all of your tax money and stuff and gives it to other countries and illegals and stuff, to me that’s against the constitution.
Corin Cates-Carney: Does Hayes have any specific policy objectives and goals?
Edward Obrien: Hayes says it’s time America rebuilds its manufacturing sector:
Dennis Hayes: If you would bring everything back to America, bring back all the pharmacy stuff from China back to America, start producing our own oil, our own gas, our own silver - why aren’t we mining it here instead of paying a communist country to get the stuff?
Edward Obrien: Hayes says Congress should also stop funding military aid packages for Ukraine and Israel:
Dennis Hayes: “That means that if the government wants to give $1.5 billion dollars to Ukraine it needs to be voted on by the people, not by this government, because this government is bought off by Ukraine and bought off by China and a lot of the other countries. “
Edward Obrien: Republican Ryan Zinke, Democrat Monica Tranel and Libertarian Dennis Hayes filled out Q&As offering more details on their campaign and policy stances.