The Democrat and Republican competing to be Montana’s governor debated for the first and only time Wednesday. The hour-long matchup was hosted by ABC/ Fox-affiliate NonStop Local.
Incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and Democrat Ryan Busse clashed over how the state has been managed over the last four years. That includes issues like affordable housing, child care and access to health care.
Gianforte says challenges persist, but that he’s delivered on the promises he made to voters when elected. Gianforte had little to say about his opponent, but did rebuke the federal government.
“I have to recognize that today in Montana, families are struggling with high inflation. The Biden-Harris affordability crisis has hit everybody.”
Gianforte has pointed to massive federal pandemic relief packages approved by Congress and the Biden administration as the culprit for inflation. However, he later highlighted ways the state used money from those packages to invest in child care and behavioral health care.
Federal dollars contributed to Montana’s nearly $3 billion budget surplus in 2023. Busse argued Gianforte should have used the money differently.
“Governor, you were handed a $2.6 billion dollar surplus and you gave it away in big tax breaks to million and billionaires like yourself,” Busse said.
Gianforte can be heard at the end of the statement saying, “that’s not true.” Gianforte’s administration championed cuts to the state’s marginal income tax rate, meaning Montanans who make about $18,000 a year or more saw their taxes reduced. Montana’s tax system applies that rate unilaterally, meaning wealthier residents see a greater break in taxes than those on lower-incomes.
Gianforte also ushered through an expansion to the state’s earned income tax credit that benefits lower-income households.
Busse knocked Gianforte on property taxes several times throughout the debate.
"He chose to put the increase in his budget, he asked the supermajority to pass it, and they did pass it. And folks at home, you are getting the bill for that,” Busse said.
In 2022, the state Department of Revenue released a memo showing that the increase in taxable values in Montana would substantially increase property taxes. The state had the option to reduce the property tax rate to minimize that increase, but did not.
Gianforte pushed back, saying local government spending has outpaced inflation.
“If we’re going to fix property taxes permanently, we’ve got to deal with local spending.”
Gianforte said he’s committed to reducing taxes. He said a top proposal for next legislative session is to pass a tax break for full-time residents of Montana that won’t be available to people who own second homes in the state.
Busse said the state should be putting money toward a low-income housing tax credit.
Montana’s rise in homelessness leads the nation. Gianforte says addressing that issue starts with providing community mental health care services.
“We made a generational investment in behavioral health," Gianforte said. "A lot of the reasons why people are on the street is because they have behavioral health issues. And we allocated $300 million.”
Busse countered that the loss of Medicaid health coverage has worsened the problem. More than 130,000 Montanans lost their coverage after the state checked recipients’ eligibility for the first since the pandemic started.
“I have people come up and tell me all the time that this has impacted them. And some of them now are out on the streets because they no longer have health care coverage.”
The federal government required the state to check eligibility and it warned Montana that it disenrolled people too quickly.
The issue of abortion drew stark contrast between the two. Busse said he supports the right to an abortion, and a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion access in the state’s constitution. He said Gianforte’s support for restricting abortion is an invasion of privacy.
“Reasonable people certainly can disagree about whether or not they’re in support of abortion. What we can also agree upon is that a governor should not be in a doctor’s office with women telling them what they can and can’t do.”
Gianforte says the ballot initiative is too extreme and would prevent regulations like requiring parental notification of minors seeking an abortion. The governor has signed around a dozen anti-abortion bills into law since taking office, although all have stalled in court.
“I ran as a pro-life candidate. I think life is precious, it should be protected. But again, as we legislate and make policy, we have to build consensus around the issues,” Gianforte said.
On public lands management, Busse called for the state to legalize “corner crossings,” or allowing people to cross between checkerboard-like sections of public lands surrounded by private property. Gianforte didn’t respond to that proposal, but said he’s proud his administration has opened up new land to public users.
In recent polling, Gianforte led Busse by about 20 points.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kaiser Lieb was not included in the debate.
Election Day is November 5. Absentee voting is already underway.
