Page 19 - Flathead Beacon // 8.13.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS Long-Standing Seat Up for Grabs
A Democrat has held the Montana Senate seat up for grabs this November since 1913, the second longest active streak in the U.S. The last Republican to hold that specific seat was Joseph Dixon, from 1907 to 1913.
Here’s the list of Democrats who have held the seat during the 101-year streak:
AUGUST 13, 2014 | 19
usaf thunderbirds
Thomas Walsh John Erickson James Murray Lee Metcalf
1913-1933 1933-1934 1934-1961 1961-1978
Paul Hatfield Max Baucus John Walsh
1978-1978
1978-2014 2014-present
nominated by the end of the day.
A new candidate must be selected before Aug. 20 to run against Daines and
Libertarian Roger Roots.
But Saldin said it matters less who
the Democrats select than that they dis- patch the process quickly.
“The sooner the better to start with a clean slate and move on in a positive direction. It’s about more than just this Senate seat at this point, so the quicker they can cut their losses and move on the better,” he said. “In some
ways I think this could
be a really healthy thing
for the Democratic Par-
ty. It takes all the atten-
tion away from what had
become a really embar-
rassing situation that was
gaining all the attention
and I think Democrats
were worried it would
have a trickle-down effect
all the way down the bal-
lot. Now they can start fo-
cusing on what they really
want to be talking about
this election cycle, and
plagiarism wasn’t what
then wanted to be talking
about.”
lieutenant governor to Gov. Steve Bull- ock, was appointed to the senate seat af- ter Democrat Max Baucus was nominat- ed as the ambassador to China. Baucus had already announced his retirement, and the diplomatic nomination meant Bullock needed to appoint a successor, which he found in Walsh, who was al- ready running against Daines.
The appointment excited some Democrats who saw a strong candidate in Walsh, his military credentials and
featuring the
Iron Eagle Aerobatic Team
Super Flash Fire Jet Truck
Democrats optimistic
they’d found a viable can-
didate in Walsh had their
hopes dashed by a plagia-
rism scandal involving
the appointed senator’s
final paper to obtain his
master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College.
Although he initially pledged to stay in the race, Walsh bowed out Aug. 7, two weeks after a withering New York Times report accused the former National Guardsman of appropriating lengthy passages from several sources available online, most notably a 2002 report by the Carnegie Endowment for Interna- tional Peace.
Although the revelation came months before an election in which the Democratic appointee was attempting to defend his seat, the story filled a vac- uum in the political news sphere and, af- ter repeated attempts by the Walsh cam- paign to soften its blow, signaled a death knell for the campaign.
Walsh, who previously served as
Lots of activities for kids! Inflatables by 4 Your Amusement:
90’ Aircraft Carrier Slide, Space Shuttle Playland, Obstacle Courses & much more!
“THE SOONER THE BETTER TO START WITH A CLEAN SLATE AND MOVE ON IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION. IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN JUST THIS SENATE SEAT AT THIS POINT, SO THE QUICKER THEY CAN CUT THEIR LOSSES AND MOVE ON THE BETTER.” Robert Saldin
Two Bear Air
Meadow Peak Sky Dive
Kid Zone
dearth of political expe- rience a boon in an inde- pendent state like Mon- tana.
Still, Saldin and other political observers say Walsh had a slim chance from the get-go, describ- ing this election cycle as a challenge for any Demo- crat.
“It’s not just that he was running against a formidable candidate, but it’s also a bad year for Demcorats,” Saldin said. “It’s a mid-term election, which is historically ben- eficial for Republicans, and it’s on the tail end of an unpopular president. This is just a really hard time to be running when you are from the same party as the president. Republicans faced the same challenge at end of
the Bush years.”
Although the names of several pow-
er-candidates had been bandied about Democratic circles – most prominently former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has said he’s not interested in running – Saldin said it’s smarter to select a candi- date who will run a respectable and an- tiseptic campaign rather than someone bombastic, who is more likely to create additional distractions.
“What the Democrats need to be thinking about is trying to put all this unpleasantness behind them and find someone who is going to be an honor- able standard-bearer,” he said. “If they can find a candidate who can run a good, clean race they should be very happy with that.”
HOMETOWN HERO Maj. Jason Curtis
of Kalispell, MT piloting Jet #6
A D D I T I O N A L FEATURED ACTS
Iron Eagle Aerobatic Team Pietsch Aircraft Super Flash Fire Jet Truck Will Allen Air Shows
[email protected]
BUY TICKETS ONLINE www.MontanaAirshow.com
PRESENTED BY
TITLE SPONSOR
AUGUST 30-31, 2014
GATES OPEN AT 10:00AM
GLACIER PARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (FCA) KALISPELL
Pietsch Aircraft