BILLINGS — Candidates for Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat were set to meet in the first of back-to-back debates on Monday night as Democrat Amanda Curtis scrambles to topple Republican Rep. Steve Daines from his front-runner status.
With just two weeks until the election, Curtis is looking for a breakthrough to make up for her late entry into the race and Daines’ nearly 8-to-1 advantage in campaign contributions.
She was selected as the Democrats’ replacement nominee in August, when Sen. John Walsh dropped out of the race.
On Monday, the state legislator and math teacher from Butte will seek to cast Daines as a millionaire, conservative ideologue, out of step with Montana voters with his support for last year’s partial government shutdown, said Curtis campaign spokesman Les Braswell.
Daines, a first-term congressman and former technology executive from Butte, is expected to try to avoid getting drawn into any fray that could dent his apparent advantage in the contest. He’ll stick to his mantra of more jobs and less government, said Daines spokeswoman Alee Lockman.
“Steve is going to remain focused on sharing his positive message,” Lockman said.
The candidates are scheduled to debate at 6 p.m. at Montana State University-Billings’ Petro Theater, followed by a Tuesday night debate in Sidney.
Daines has raised $4.3 million and spent more than $3.2 million since he entered the race last year. He’s seeking to take for the Republican party a senate seat that Democrats have held for more than a century.
Walsh, a former lieutenant governor, was appointed to that post in February to fill a vacancy created when former Sen. Max Baucus became U.S. Ambassador to China. But Walsh abandoned his campaign in August after The New York Times revealed he plagiarized a paper while attending the U.S. Army War College in 2007.
Curtis has raised $558,000 and spent just $50,466 through September 30. She posted her first and perhaps only television advertisement last week. That compares with a deluge of Daines ads that have been airing for months.
Information on the candidates’ finances was obtained through reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Tune into tonight’s debate here.