Former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Governors Marc Racicot and Steve Bullock walk into a bar … for a “community conversation” in Helena that drew an overflowing crowd. Racicot was a Republican governor from 1993 to 2001. Bullock and Tester were the last Democrats to hold statewide office in Montana.
They weighed in on current political debates – criticizing cuts to Medicaid funding and the Trump Administration waging war on Iran.
Racicot says he’s most concerned about degradation to U.S. democracy. He pointed to the federal SAVE Act, which would require voters to provide ID and proof of citizenship before casting a ballot.
“It’s a cynical attempt to try and suppress voters in this country,” he said.
Bullock agreed.
“If we lose this process, everything else doesn’t matter in this 237 year experiment.”
Most Republicans say the bill outlines necessary safeguards for elections. Democrats say it creates unnecessary barriers to voting that will lead to disenfranchisement. The bill passed the House with both of Montana’s representatives voting for it. It’s now before the Senate. Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines called the bill common sense and noncontroversial.
The SAVE Act is a top priority for President Donald Trump.
The three politicos talked about the midterm election as an opportunity to stymie the remainder of Trump’s term. Montana’s Senate and western House district races recently became more competitive with both incumbents pulling out.
Racicot and Tester also expressed optimism for independent candidate Seth Bodnar running for Senate.
Some Democrats have criticized Tester for supporting a third-party candidate who could split voters and hand an easy victory to the Republican. In an interview, Tester said the same criticism could be made against a Democrat syphoning off votes from an independent.
“The one that does the best job selling themself to the people of the state of Montana and talks about how they’re going to work for Montana and not for bosses in D.C., probably has the best chance of winning,” Tester said.
Montana’s party primaries are June 2.
