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Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte greets former Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the Glacier Jet Center on Oct. 25. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Rick Perry Hits Campaign Trail with Gianforte
Former Texas governor and two-time Republican presidential candidate stumps in Flathead Valley
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
Former Texas governor and two- time Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry touched down at Kalispell’s Glacier Jet Center on Oct. 25 to hit the campaign trail with Greg Gianforte, the GOP’s nominee for one of the most- watched governor’s races in the country.
Wearing a khaki button-down shirt emblazoned with the historic slogan “Come And Take It” beneath a depic- tion of a cannon and a single star, an historic symbol of the Texas Revolution, Perry said his support of Gianforte boils down to his support of states’ rights and his full-throated heralding of the 10th Amendment, which says the powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states.
A titan in the Lone Star State’s polit- ical world, Perry was the longest-serving governor in Texas history with a tenure of 14 years and 30 days. He ran unsuc- cessfully for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 and 2016, bitterly clashing with eventual GOP nominee Donald Trump, and calling the billion- aire’s candidacy a “cancer on conserva- tism” before endorsing him.
And while Perry maintains that national races are of high importance, he noted that governor’s races provide state leaders with their best avenue around federal policies they don’t agree with.
“Governors matter,” Perry said. “I believe that Donald Trump has the strongest vision to put America on the right path, but governors are where the rubber meets the road. They
understand that states are laboratories of innovation.”
According to Gianforte, the Trea- sure State is in dire need of some inno- vative solutions.
Since announcing his bid to chal- lenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, Gianforte has repeatedly pounded the drum that Montana su ers from low wages, a glut of economy-sti- ing regulations, federal overreach, and policies that put residents in danger of terrorist violence.
Gianforte praised Perry’s economic performance during his long tenure as governor and his record of building a bigger workforce, adding more than 1 million employees to the payrolls of Texas businesses than there were at the beginning of 2008, before the nancial crisis.
“The secret is that they made it eas- ier for businesses to grow,” Gianforte said. “Nobody has a better record than Gov. Perry, and if I can learn lessons from him than I would happily adopt those plans and policies for Montana. But rst we need to peel back regula- tions and lower the tax burden so we can start putting money back into the pock- ets of Montanans.”
“Good governors steal ideas from one another,” Perry added.
Bullock has the advantage of incum- bency and of the race being held during a presidential election, one of 12 gover- nor’s races this year, and he has attacked Gianforte’s tax plan that gives breaks to large, out-of-state corporations.
Gianforte, a political newcomer who sold his software company RightNow
Technologies to Oracle in 2011 for $1.8 billion, has worked to pick apart Bull- ock’s record as governor, accusing him of not pushing aggressively enough against federal regulations and of mis- managing the state’s budget.
Bullock and Gianforte have also fre- quently sparred over access to public lands on the campaign trail, with the Democrat highlighting a legal dispute between Gianforte and the state about easement boundaries, and the Republi- can’s camp criticizing Bullock appoin- tees for considering the closure of a pop- ular access point on Fort Peck Lake.
Taking a shot at Perry’s support of the Republican candidate, Bullock was criti- cal of public land management in Texas, pointing to the fact that most hunting is limited to private land or through out- tters and guides.
Perry, a nationally known gure who is popular with Montana Republicans, is not the rst prominent member of the GOP to campaign for candidates in Montana.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott visited Mon- tana this summer to support Gian- forte, while House Speaker Paul Ryan is scheduled to stop in Billings this week- end to campaign for U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, Montana’s lone House represen- tative from White sh.
Montana Republican Party Chair- man Je Essmann acknowledged that the race between Gianforte and Bullock would be a “nail biter” and that the nal stretch leading up to the Nov. 8 election is a critical time.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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NOVEMBER 2, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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