Not even two weeks after the state’s latest campaign finance report revealed that Drew Turiano had loaned his own gubernatorial campaign a hefty $23,000, the Republican has announced that he is no longer seeking the governor’s office and is instead running for secretary of state.
That brings the Republican gubernatorial field down to eight, or four times as large as the Democratic field of two. It will be interesting to see if any other candidates who are lagging in campaign finances decide to drop out of the race in the coming weeks. Even with one less candidate, eight is still a pretty crowded field.
In a Lee Newspapers story, Turiano, a real estate investor from Helena, outlined some of his key issues in seeking the secretary of state position, “including the need for Montana to be more sovereign over state resources and provide a better business climate for the state.”
“I will also advance the pro-life, anti-illegal immigration and nullification causes,” Turiano said, referring to the legal theory that states can nullify federal laws that they believe are unconstitutional.