Montana’s primary election is just around the corner, June 7. As usual, I’m having a hard time getting excited. Sure, Bernie Sanders air-dropped into Billings and Missoula, to talk about all the free stuff he’s gonna hand out if elected – most likely the first and last time he ever sets foot in Montana – but the flagship race has been all but decided.
In our governor race, both parties have “contested” races, but the “contest” is a token, thanks to Montana election laws that let candidates raise and spend more money if they have a primary “opponent.”
Yawn.
Locally, it’s not all sleepy, thanks to a handful of contested Republican races. Even Flathead Democrats have a reason to stay awake this time, if only to cross over behind enemy lines in the voting booth.
First is the county commission race between incumbent Pam Holmquist and challenger Tim Harmon, a fairgrounds employee. This certainly isn’t the first time a county employee has tried to replace his or her boss.
The other contested GOP races seem to be the usual RINOs versus elephants deal, or Democrats pretending to be Republicans, and/or Republicans pretending to be Democrats. Those few Highway 2 West Flatheaders gerrymandered in with Sanders County should have fun voting in the race for Senate District 7, currently held by Jennifer Fielder. Her support of transferring federal public lands management to states that want it has earned her the loathing of Democrats and Greens.
So, three “Democrats” are vying to challenge her in November. First to file was Elizabeth Retallick, an utter unknown whose filing fee was paid by one Jacob M. Brown – also known as in Jake Brown of the Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Second came Mark Sheets, who filed for election six days after Retallick. Sheets seems the genuine Democrat article, as he lost to Fielder in the 2012 Senate general election 56 percent to 36 percent. Filing a day later, however, was Terry Caldwell, whom “Americans Against the Tea Party” outed in 2014 as, yep, Tea Party.
Better, the crossover-ing to prevent crossover in SD 7 is bipartisan! Fielder is being challenged by Glenn Ferren, a former BLM employee who ran for state house from Helena in 2004 as a Democrat after abandoning an “independent” run for governor. The Helena Independent reported, “Ferren believes the Republicans should be thrown out of office.” So he’s Republican now? Yep, and he wants to legalize pot, too.
Oh, and the race for also-gerrymandered HD-13 race has a fake Democrat, too. What fun!
The other two GOP legislative contests give me déjà vu all over again. In HD 11 (the west shore) contractor Derek Skees, a conservative former legislator, is matched with Jean Barragan, an FVCC education professor. Both are loyal GOP donors, but in looking at their current campaign reports (out May 3), the donors I recognize tended a hair more “centrist” for Barragan.
In upper west Flathead Senate District 3, Whitefish car dealer Don Kaltschmidt is running against Keith Regier, a situation not unlike the 2014 Senate primary between upstart moderate Tammi Fisher and Mark Blasdell, an experienced conservative House legislator who had been chosen by his peers as speaker, no less – a classic RINOs versus elephants battle.
Now we’ve got the Montana House majority leader (the number two position) vying against someone who has yet to climb Helena’s steep learning curve. I know both these guys, they are both Republicans – but why is Kaltschmidt challenging Regier rather than running to capture Whitefish’s House seat from the Democrats?
Another factor in the SD3 race is worth noting: For years, we all heard Bob DePratu’s unmistakable syntax on the radio, which helped DePratu develop nearly-universal name recognition in the valley. Did those “car ads” impact his races for state Senate? Oh, you bet. How about Conrad Burns in 1988, after his stint as agriculture radio personality? Never mind that the guy who bought Northern Broadcasting from Burns, Taylor Brown, is finishing up two terms as a state senator from Billings.
Seems Don K has been selling more than just Subarus lately.