So as we all know, top Democrats from Brian Schweitzer to Denise Juneau have been passing up the chance to run for Senator Max Baucus' (D. MT) seat. So I decided to look into the other potential Democratic candidates. So far there's at least one Democrat who wants to run for the Senate:
http://missoulian.com/...
Dirk Adams, 62, who’s ranched in the Shields River Valley since 1984, said he decided about a month ago to get into the race and is already assembling a campaign organization. It’s his first run for political office.
Yet Adams declined to say yet why he’s running or how he plans to introduce himself to Montana voters.
Adams spoke from a cellphone while working his ranch Wednesday afternoon, and said he’d rather wait until later to explain and outline his candidacy. He has a campaign website – adamsjobs.com, which is still under construction – that says more jobs should be “made in America” and that “working” and “poor” “should not be words that appear together.” - The Missoulian, 8/14/13
Not sure if Adams is our ideal candidate so I looked at some other potential candidates that have mentioned. The other candidates named Justice of the Montana Supreme Court Brian Morris who is currently a nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Montana. There's John Lewis, the former state director for Senator Baucus.
There's also Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch ant Lt. Governor John Walsh who's been talking to Governor Steve Bullock about running for Senate:
http://billingsgazette.com/...
Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday he has talked several times with Lt. Gov. John Walsh about running for the U.S. Senate, but has neither encouraged nor discouraged his running mate from entering the race.
Walsh, former adjutant general of the Montana National Guard, has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 for the seat being vacated by Democratic incumbent Max Baucus.
Asked about the Senate in mid-July, Walsh said, “I have not really thought about it at all.” His office declined to comment further to the Gazette State Bureau this week.
On Friday, Bullock was asked about a possible Walsh Senate candidacy at his weekly press meeting.
“The lieutenant governor is an extremely talented leader and a wonderful individual,” Bullock said. “That’s why I chose him to actually lead government with me, and he’s doing a great job here as lieutenant governor. I think there are a lot of opportunities out there, and that it’s important we have strong leadership in the U.S. Senate representing Montana.” - Billings Gazette, 8/2/13
But there were three potential candidates that really stood out for me. The first one is State Rep Amanda Curtis (D. MT), an outspoken advocate for background checks:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/...
State Rep. Amanda Curtis of Butte told the crowd to stand up for “reasonable” gun control legislation. The Democrat — who is considering a run for the U.S. House — said she believes the state is largely supportive of the idea.
“I don’t think in any way it is an unreasonable or outrageous thing to ask,” Curtis said in an interview after the event.
Curtis said during the rally that when she was 17, her brother killed himself with a gun at a party playing Russian roulette. She argued more can be done to prevent gun deaths, and told a few dozen gathered at the rally to stand up to fictitious counter arguments.
“When someone says the government is going to come and take your guns, that is crazy. That is not going to happen,” Curtis said. “We wouldn’t ever let that happen.” - Great Falls Tribune, 7/23/13
Curtis also gained name recognition for this:
http://www.rawstory.com/...
Montana state Rep. Amanda Curtis (D-Butte) slammed her Republican colleagues on Monday for supporting a state law that makes homosexuality a felony.
A bill to repeal the obsolete law was passed by the state’s House Judiciary Committee, but 38 Republicans voted against it. Curtis noted that during debate over the bill, state Rep. Krayton Kerns (R-Laurel) implied that LGBT individuals lacked a “moral character.”
“It was so hard to sit through that and not walk across the floor and punch him,” she said in video uploaded to YouTube. “That’s so offensive. Talk about starting a fight. I’ve had so many people asking me how I sit through this testimony without just standing up and screaming — and it was really, really hard today.”
“I was able to sit through the crazy abortion talk and not be as offended as I was today,” Curtis continued. “To say that our friends and our neighbors and our brothers and sisters and our cousins, aunts and uncles should be felons, and we support this because the Bible says so? First of of all, its wrong. Second of all, its wrong.” - Raw Story, 4/8/13
The second candidate to catch my eye is State Senator. Franke Wilmer (D) who wrote a great op-ed piece calling for the repeal of the Patriot Act:
http://missoulian.com/...
On Sept. 11, 2001, in an editorial published the next day, I wrote:
“Democracy requires tolerance; war intolerance. Democracy cannot exist without the rule of law; war relies on violence that is always, to some degree, indiscriminate. Democracy asks us to regard each person and judge the merits of his opinion as a unique individual; war has room only for enemies and allies. Democracy rests on a faith in our common humanity; war always dehumanizes someone. Clearly this was an act of war on the part of the attackers, but we cannot respond in kind without abandoning democracy ourselves, and that would be a victory for these faceless perpetrators.”
There will be other terrorist attacks. Even the complete destruction of civil liberties will not prevent it. It could be any sort of attack. We have already gone from “anyone can be the enemy” to “everyone is the enemy.” Our government collects information on everyone, without probable cause, without judicial review. When there is another attack, those who accept the current level of surveillance will tell us that it was obviously, inadequate. And then we will destroy whatever is left of our democracy at that point.
There is a metaphor for the slow destruction of something we hold dear: Drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will scream and try to escape. But drop it into a pot of cold water on a stove set to slow heat, and it will never see the boil coming. We did not lose all of our civil liberties on Sept. 12, 2001, but most of us did not see the boil coming either. It’s time to scream. It’s time to get out of the pot. Repeal the Patriot Act. Demand that your congressional representatives protect your civil liberties or be defeated in the next election by someone who will. - The Missoulian, 7/31/13
But the one potential candidate who really caught my eye was former Lt. Governor John Bohlinger:
http://www.montanakaimin.com/...
Bohlinger is considering running for retiring Sen. Max Baucus' seat as a Democrat, but he has not announced his candidacy. Bohlinger, a former small businessman from Billings, served as a Republican in the Legislature from Billings before joining the ticket of former Gov. Brian Schweitzer in 2004.
The 77-year-old Bohlinger said Tuesday that he would only serve one term in the Senate. He said that would allow him to be bold with his decisions and not be forced to worry about raising money or getting re-elected.
Bohlinger said he thinks he has good name recognition across the state, and a good profile as a businessman and Marine veteran. But he is "testing the waters" by continuing to talk to people about how his candidacy would be received.
"Being a one-term senator would make you bold," Bohlniger said. "You are not looking to build a war chest that would launch you to your next campaign. When you are only going to be there one term, you can do the right thing."
Bohlinger said he could pursue polices to give incentives to corporations to being jobs back into the country. And he likes the idea of "Medicaid for all," an idea where uninsured people would be allowed to buy into the government insurance program for the poor. - Montana Kaimin, 8/6/13
Bohlinger said last month that he was interested in running for the vacant seat:
http://www.beartoothnbc.com/...
After rumors surfaced last week about his candidacy, former Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger is now saying he is considering running for Montana's open U.S. Senate seat.
Before last week, former Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger had never considered running for Congress. But after former Governor Brian Schwetizer announced he would not join the race, Bohlinger began to receive several phone calls.
"This prompted me to give some consideration to it, and I have found in conversations with people there is support for my candidacy."
Now the Democrat says he is thinking about running for the open U.S. Senate seat because he feels it is his duty.
"A sense of responsibility to be there as an advocate for Montana and for our Federal Government." - 7/22/13
Bohlinger has stated that his family has a long allegiance to the Democratic Party but he became a Republican when he was a businessman. But Bohlinger sounds like he wants to come back to Team Blue due to how radically right the GOP has become:
http://billingsgazette.com/...
“In the ’70’s and '80’s, the Republican Party was fiscally responsible. They had a social conscience. It’s a different party today. I have a hard time identifying with the hard right. The Republican Party left me in the ‘90’s.” - Billings Gazette, 7/16/13
Bohlinger served served three terms in the Montana House in 1993, 1995 and 1997. In 1998, he unseated a fellow Republican and went onto the State Senate and re-elected in 2002. In 2003, Schweitzer asked him to be his running mate. Bohlinger has been encouraged to run for Baucus' seat:
Bohlinger said a number of people have urged him to consider the open Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of longtime Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, now that former Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced Saturday he decided against running for the Senate.
“I think I would be a very good candidate,” Bohlinger said in an interview. “I would just have to assess what kind of support there would be for my candidacy.”
Bohlinger, a former Republican legislator from Billings, served eight years as lieutenant governor under Democrat Schweitzer on a hybrid ticket that proved popular with voters in 2004 and 2008.
“Several people have said, ‘John, you were part of the Montana miracle. We need to try to take that kind of thinking to Washington,’" he said. “We left with a $450 million ending fund balance, without raising taxes. It came because of good money management and good policy decisions. We made historical investments in education and human services efforts.”
Bohlinger said he really enjoyed having a seat at the table where public policy was formed and misses that.
“I’m blessed with lots of energy and good health,” he said. “I’d like to have a seat at the table where public policy is formed.” - Billings Gazette, 7/16/13
I really appreciate and respect Bohlinger's remarks about being a potential Senate candidate. Given his age, I believe him when he says he would only be interested in doing one term and it would free him up to vote however he wants. Also, he has the name recognition and he was Schweitzer's right hand man so he already has a great record to run on. This race is certainly still winnable for Team Blue and potential Republican candidate Rep. Steve Daines (R. MT-AL) might be the GOP's best shot:
http://www.nbcmontana.com/...
Republican Rep. Steve Daines told us he is still considering a run. Daines made it clear he is staying focused on his current agenda. We caught up with him at the Best Western Plus Grantree Inn off 7th Avenue in Bozeman, where he was attending the 8th Annual Economic Outlook Seminar.
"We're taking a look at that race, but we're staying focused on doing the job I got sent to do," said Daines.
State Sen. Corey Stapleton and State Rep. Champ Edmunds have yet to declare. Both Stapleton and Edmunds are Republicans. - NBC Montana, 8/6/13
Now to be fair, Daines did vote for the Amash Amendment so he doesn't sound like a Big Brother Republican like Denny Rehberg (R. MT). But he is pretty hawkish:
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/...
U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, back from a weeklong trip to Israel sponsored by a pro-Israel group, said Tuesday he came away convinced that maintaining a strong defense is the best foundation for securing peace and stability in the Middle East.
Daines, R-Mont., and two dozen other Republican U.S. House members made the trip, which ended Sunday.
They met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Daines said he asked the prime minister about President Barack Obama’s plans to reduce America’s nuclear weapons arsenal, and that Netanyahu said he had concerns because of nuclear weapons that could be developed by enemies of Israel in the Middle East.
“The prime minister, as I do, believes that one of the best ways to ensure peace is to have strength,” Daines said. “It’s important for the United States to maintain a strong defense.” - Ravalli Republic, 8/20/13
And Daines sounds like he's in line with George W. Bush on this issue:
http://helenair.com/...
From one fifth-generation Montanan to another, I’m calling Rep. Steve Daines’ recent column on forest issues, misinformed parroting of Bush-era “Healthy Forests” propaganda which was nothing but a smokescreen for more corporate logging. Sadly, Rep. Daines now follows Bush’s path to less environmental analysis, less public review and more deforestation of our dwindling old growth forests.
Ironically, Daines’ column was published on the same page and day the Independent Record editorialized about how wonderful Yellowstone National Park is doing after the 1988 fires that burned 1.4 million acres. Despite predictions at the time from forestry experts who claimed Yellowstone’s soil was “sterilized,” the evidence is clear that didn’t happen. As the IR noted, the park is “renewed and ever-changing.” Contrary to predictions of other “experts” the Park’s rivers didn’t fill with sediment and the fish didn’t die after the fires. It seems Nature knows better than forest managers, timber corporations, and politicians like Daines.??
The IR’s editorial praised the firefighting decisions in the park that are based on science while lauding organizations that promote reducing fire risk by creating a defensible space around homes. If people want to build homes, in forests that will eventually burn, it is their responsibility to create a defensible space to protect their homes from wildfire.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies agrees with both of these strategies. So, apparently, do a whopping 75 percent (603 people) of those who responded “yes” to the IR’s recent Question of the Week asking if the Forest Service should let the Red Shale fire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness continue to burn to benefit the forest. - Independent Record, 8/13/13
Hopefully Bohlinger or some other big name Democrat will officially announce their candidacy but for now, I'm liking the idea of a Senator Bohlinger.