I thought Montana Republican Congressman Steve Daines would soon declare for U.S. Senate – now that the government is reopened and the debt ceiling raised. But the freshman lawmaker recently announced he won’t decide until next year. If he does run, he would still be the frontrunner, but it’s hard to imagine the last few weeks have helped his campaign.
During the two-week partial government shutdown, Democratic Montana Lieutenant Governor John Walsh, who recently announced his Senate run and is considered his party’s frontrunner, continually said Daines “must take responsibility” for harming the economy and veterans.
D.C. publication POLITICO wrote, “for nine House members seeking a promotion to the Senate next year, the shutdown is, unequivocally, bad news.” The story lumped Daines with a group of other Senate hopefuls who may have hurt their chances in next year’s election.
But what was Daines’ alternative? He toed the party line, just like nearly every one of his colleagues. He’s a Republican, from a Republican-leaning state where Obamacare is unpopular, so his position was expected even if unhelpful.
The House demanded that the Affordable Care Act, which has been rife with problems, be defunded, and then delayed. Then it argued the president and Democratic-controlled Senate needed to offer spending cuts in exchange for passing a continuing resolution and raising the debt ceiling. And Daines maintained that those negotiations were vital.
“I am hearing this from Montanans and virtually all of America,” Daines told the Associated Press during the shutdown. “They expect their elected leaders to come together and talk and find solutions.”
But that never happened. Instead, the stalemate slogged on as Democrats maintained their position that they would not barter over the shutdown or pay for obligations and laws already passed by Congress. Meanwhile, his critics referred to him as “Shutdown Steve.”
Sixteen days passed, and in the 11th hour the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to reopen government and avoid a threatened national default – at least for a few more months – and the House followed suit, although Republicans split 144 against and 87 in favor. Daines voted for the measure.
“The government needs to reopen, and we can’t risk default on our obligations,” Daines said in a prepared statement following the vote. “But I am deeply frustrated that this vote virtually guarantees that in just a few short months, we’ll be back at square one, facing another debt ceiling crisis.”
Since taking office, Daines has drawn praise from some unlikely corners, mainly conservationists who support his legislation that would protect the North Fork from mining and energy development. They have highlighted his “bipartisan approach,” one that could be considered at odds with his position during the shutdown.
But he has also taken conservative criticism for proposing the North Fork Watershed Protection Act and, after his support for reopening the government, he again left himself open to attacks from the right. The day after his vote, Americans for Limited Government blasted out an email, declaring “Steve Daines supports Obamacare with continuing resolution vote” and he “now shares in the blame for this train wreck.”
To be clear, Daines has said his objective to repeal the health care law is unchanged, and he has also proposed relaxing restrictions on energy development and logging. He has already raised more than $1 million as he considers a Senate run. And, yes, he is still the frontrunner.
But over the next few weeks, Congress will once again be discussing the budget and the debt ceiling. And the longer that discussion lasts, the longer his positions will be scrutinized from both sides.