The tide of Republican victories that rolled across the nation during last week’s mid-term elections wrested control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats, and while Montana’s GOP followed the national trend by dominating most state legislative races and maintaining control of both chambers, the makeup of the 2015 session bears similarities to last year’s term, which was characterized by intraparty squabbling amongst divided factions of the GOP.
State Republicans won a 29-21 majority in the Senate, which is the same balance they enjoyed in 2013, and a 59-41 majority in the House, where Democrats found little purchase even as they gained two seats.
All 150 newly elected and holdover lawmakers will convene at the state capitol on Nov. 12 to assign leadership and committee roles, which lawmakers say will help determine the leadership makeup and how it will rule.
Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell, said he’s hopeful the caucus would assemble a slate of political leadership that encourages bipartisan compromise, crafts a reasonable agenda and allows policies to advance that are good for Montana.
That would be a departure from last session, Tutvedt said, when a faction of hardline conservatives opposed Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s policy initiatives at nearly every turn.
Tutvedt, a farmer who represents Senate District 3, emerged as a leader of a defecting faction of the party that split with the more conservative leadership to work with minority Democrats and pass key legislation, including an increased state budget and a major bill that increased state support for public schools.
Though difficult to predict, Tutvedt said he anticipates a more productive brand of cooperation among lawmakers.
“I think the Senate is probably in a more stable position than last session and there is a high probability that we’ll have a leadership that is going to honor the traditions of the Senate and the Legislature with much more dignity than the leadership we have had in the past,” Tutvedt said.
The midterm election cycle also saw some members of the conservative faction move to the House and some of the moderates move to the Senate, which could present a shift toward more flexible leadership while mitigating political infighting.
Tutvedt credited the modest gains that Democrats made in the House to redistricting that favored the party, pointing to several losses of seats previously in Republican control – Reps. Liz Bangerter, of Helena; Steve Gibson, of East Helena; Dennis Lenz, of Billings; and Jerry O’Neil, of Columbia Falls, were four Republicans who lost in newly drawn districts.
“They would have won in their own districts and they lost. That is just how the cookie crumbles,” Tutvedt said.
Another obstacle for lawmakers eager for a session devoid of gridlock is the 2016 election cycle looming on the political horizon. Bullock is up for re-election in 2016, and Republicans may be wary of handing Bullock any policy victories for which he can take credit.
“Last session, we worked together to pass a tuition freeze and tax reform and the governor took credit for that alongside us,” Tutvedt said. “The other side wants large tax cuts and changes in government and to draw a strong distinction on a myriad of different issues that many of us see as counter productive, but one side thinks making these big-statement bills that draw a large difference between the Republican legislature and the governor is a good thing. I don’t agree.”
Tutvedt and other “responsible Republicans” who united with Bullock and Democratic legislators in 2013 to pass some key bills were targeted by the conservative faction. Tutvedt was the target of a complaint to Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices filed by Dave Ponte, a 2012 House candidate who aligns politically with Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, who stands at the fore of the conservative side.
The complaint, which the commissioner quickly dismissed as “frivolous,” alleged improper coordination between some legislative candidates and MT BASE (Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections).
Tutvedt shrugged off the allegations as trivial, and said the party’s inability to govern even when it holds a hefty majority is grinding good government to a halt. He characterized the opponents as representing an extremist faction that wants to derail government completely and create gridlock in an effort to popularize their belief that government is ineffective.
Tutvedt was one of a handful of Senate Republicans to support a plan that would have provided low-income Montanans with access to federally subsidized health insurance, an alternative to straight Medicaid expansion called the “Arkansas plan.” That plan died in the House.
Republicans also won’t have a veto-proof majority in 2015, which means Bullock will still have the power to block any bills the Legislature sends him that he doesn’t like. Bullock vetoed 30 bills in 2013, the vast majority of which were Republican bills.
Tutvedt said he hopes to see fewer vetoes next session by crafting common-sense policies.
“One side thinks that 71 vetoes is a good thing while others think seven vetoes is enough,” he said. “If we continue to send him bills that have no chance of a signature, there will be a lot of vetoes. If we pass some good bills and we play our hand right, we won’t see as many.”
Montana Speaker of the House Mark Blasdel, of Somers, handily won a senate seat in Senate District 4 during last week’s election, capturing 69 percent of the vote and beating Democrat Diane Taylor.
Blasdel has made a name for himself in the Legislature, and a notable moment came last session when the House passed the session’s major budget bill with a unanimous 100-0 vote.
Blasdel said the General Election results are evidence that the Republican message is resonating with Montanans, and hopes to convene the 2015 Session by rolling out a strong agenda and coming to the table and working with the governor on a range of issues, including the water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the business equipment tax, property tax reappraisals, funding for education, and income tax reductions.
“I think we need to set forth policies that move Montana forward but also be able to show the differences between our philosophies and the governor’s policies as far as limited government, lowered taxes and business reform and hopefully we can get him on board with some of our policies and benefit Montana,” Blasdel said. “The elections were a good showing for the Republican party. I think our message won and we had a good group of candidates. Now it’s time to move on and prove that we can get the job done.”