Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke received the Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation at a ceremony at the organization’s Missoula headquarters, recognizing his work on public lands, wildlife habitat and America’s hunting heritage. RMEF president and CEO Kyle Weaver and chief conservation officer Blake Henning presented the award. Zinke is only Read More…
Vice President JD Vance remains the clear favorite in a prospective 2028 Republican presidential primary, with 41% of Republicans and right-leaning Independents saying they would vote for him in The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll. The Center Square has conducted four 2028 presidential primary polls since October, and Vance’s latest showing was his strongest to Read More…
National teacher unions contribute at least 10% of their annual budget to lobbying and political activism, which includes calling for the impeachment of Republican President Donald Trump in the 2026 American Federation of Teachers handbook. Efforts also include supporting Democratic causes such as messaging against immigration enforcement. Some teachers raise questions about whether union dues are being Read More…
Montana’s Carpenters Union Local 82 endorsed Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint during a construction site tour at the new Bretz RV warehouse in Butte, with members of the Ironworkers Union also joining to show their support — a notable show of organized labor backing for a Republican in a race rated Likely Republican by Sabato’s Read More…
HELENA – A Libertarian candidate booted from the election for not filing all his paperwork on time said he asked the state to reconsider, but a state official said the decision stands. Ron Vandevender, 59, a Cascade resident who filed to run for House District 80, was among the seven candidates disqualified for not filing Read More…
The March 12 filing deadline has come and gone, and the 2018 races for county, state and federal offices have taken shape. The primary election takes place June 5, and will be the determining election for several races in Flathead County in which only Republicans have filed for the jobs. READ THE FULL STORY.
Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a “lack of candor,” McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly accused Read More…
HELENA – Montana’s campaign regulators have disqualified seven legislative candidates from the ballot for failing to file required paperwork. Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan announced Monday that those candidates had not filed an official statement of candidacy or business disclosure statement. By state law, candidates who miss the deadline for submitting those forms cannot Read More…
Governor Steve Bullock (D-MT) is getting called out by Politifact for using false statistics when it comes to the gun control debate. Bullock, desperate to be named as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, was recently in Milwaukee, Wisconsin raising money for Wisconsin Democrats. Politifact analyzed a line by Bullock where he argued that Read More…
A select bipartisan, bicameral committee has been asked to examine more than $1.2 million in state employee settlements since the beginning of 2017. The committee, consisting of six Republicans and four Democrats was appointed by Senate President Scott Sales and Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen. Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas explained the genesis of Read More…
The longtime spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was physically assaulted by a Democratic operative on Capitol Hill Thursday. Politico, The Daily Caller, and other outlets are now reporting that a man who works for the liberal group known as American Bridge was arrested following the incident. Here’s a compilation of coverage from various outlets Read More…
The Montana Legislative Finance Committee met on Monday and Tuesday this week with an update on the state budget. Committee Chair Nancy Balance says a group of state Democrats came to the meeting asking them to either appropriate money, declare a state of emergency or to create a supplemental budget allocation to address cuts in Read More…
At a hearing on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to explain since he is advocating higher admission prices at national parks, why he chose to take a private jet home from Las Vegas. “First, insults and innuendoes are misleading,” Zinke said. Read More…
Senator Steve Daines was on Dominick In The Morning today discussing the STOP School Violence Act. Danies talked about being at a press conference earlier with Orrin Hatch, Marco Rubio, Joni Ernst, Bill Nelson, Dan Sullivan and students from Florida’s Parkland High School. The press conference was to push the STOP School Violence Act which Read More…
The campaign to renew the levy contributing roughly $19 million a year to public higher education in Montana is facing allegations of campaign finance violations. Voters first passed the levy that supports public colleges and universities in the state in 1948 and then renewed it every decade since. The levy will be on the 2018 Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont. – Billings Superintendent Terry Bouck may be calling it a career with School District 2 but he still has political aspirations. On Monday, Bouck formally filed as a Democrat entering the race for the Montana House District 49. Bouck is one of three people registered with the Secretary of States office. READ THE Read More…
President Donald Trump said Monday his commerce secretary will talk to the European Union about tariffs Trump argues have been unfair to the United States. Trump wrote on Twitter: “Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross will be speaking with representatives of the European Union about eliminating the large Tariffs and Barriers they use against the U.S.A. Read More…
WASHINGTON — Despite unrelenting criticism from the White House on the course of the investigation into Russia’s election interference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Monday offered unqualified support for special counsel Robert Mueller. “The special counsel is not an unguided missile,” Rosenstein said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. “I don’t believe there is Read More…
President Donald Trump said again Monday he wants a “phase two” of tax cuts on top of the law Republicans passed in December. Speaking as the World Series champion Houston Astros visited the White House, Trump asked Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, whether he planned to cut taxes further. Brady and GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Read More…
Conservative economist Larry Kudlow is the front-runner to replace Gary Cohn as President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser, CNBC’s Jim Cramer reports. “I have it pretty good … that Larry Kudlow is now the leading contender for the job to replace Gary Cohn. I think if he was offered it, he would take it. This Read More…
Conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza came to Bigfork Saturday night. His talk, organized by the Last Chance Patriots and the Flathead County Republican Central Committee, nearly filled the 435-seat Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Audience members paid $100 per ticket to hear D’Souza’s take on politics, a topic he’s explored in 17 books Read More…
David A. Clarke Jr., the former Sheriff of Milwaukee County, spoke at the Yellowstone Valley Republicans Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner in Billings on Friday night. Clarke met supporters and signed book “Cop Under Fire” before the dinner. During his speech, he praised those running for public office, who spoke at the dinner. “Good luck to Read More…
HELENA – Former Vice President Joe Biden urged Democrats in Helena and across the state Saturday night to fight for the middle class, which he said made America the power and beacon of the modern world. “But for an aspirational middle class that is constantly rising, we would not have had the social and political Read More…
Jay Nelson announced Thursday that he will run for Lewis & Clark County Sheriff-Coroner, saying he wants to bring leadership and transparency to the office. A group of about two dozen supporters joined Nelson as he launched his campaign in front of the Lewis & Clark County Courthouse. In a brief statement for the press, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is urging congressional leaders to pass legislation supporting victims of child pornography. He is encouraging the House of Representatives to support and vote for the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act. “This is a very important piece of legislation,” said Fox. “As you know, child pornography is Read More…
Five Senate Democrats would lose to Republican candidates if the elections were held today and three have approval ratings under 50%, according to new Axios/SurveyMonkey polls. Why it matters: Democrats are defending 10 Senate seats in states that President Trump won in 2016. In six of those states, Trump’s approval is higher than 50% (compared to Read More…
Get ready for a title fight. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., look highly likely to be their parties’ nominees for a Senate seat. Both are big names in North Dakota politics, and with control of the U.S. Senate on the line this November, observers say it makes for an equally big Read More…
We’ve noted on several occasions how favorable the 2018 Senate map is for Republicans, even if the national electoral environment ends up with a deep blue tint (the GOP’s fortunes have ticked up, thanks to tax reform and good economic news, which the president’s foolish trade war gambit threatens). Losing Alabama was an entirely avoidable Read More…
The 2018 Budget Session of the Wyoming Legislature officially passed the midway point on Wednesday. In reality, lawmakers may be more than halfway finished, since it isn’t known yet whether the legislature will use the full 20 days allotted for the 2018 session. Wednesday was also the crossover period for the session, meaning that any Read More…
CHEYENNE – Gov. Matt Mead on Thursday selected a former Wyoming secretary of state candidate and Laramie County prosecutor as the next secretary of state. Ed Buchanan will serve the remainder of Ed Murray’s term as the state’s election and business registration authority after Murray stepped down in early February following sexual misconduct allegations. READ Read More…
HELENA – U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., paid his candidate filing fee Thursday to run for re-election, likely completing the filed of competitors for Montana’s only congressional seat. Gianforte won the seat last May 25, in a special election to succeed Ryan Zinke, who resigned after becoming U.S. Interior secretary. In a statement Thursday, Gianforte Read More…
ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers approved a bill on Thursday that stripped out a tax break proposal highly coveted by Delta Air Lines — the most stinging punishment that America’s pro-gun forces have leveled so far on one of the many corporations recalibrating their positions on firearms after the Florida high school massacre. The $50 million Read More…
On Monday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock and other governors from around the country met with President Donald Trump to discuss the issue of guns and school safety. During his brief time at the microphone, Bullock asked the president to work on adding new elements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICS. “We Read More…
HELENA – A Libertarian candidate is jumping into the race for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat, becoming the first third-party candidate to file for a statewide office this year. Elinor Swanson filed with the Montana Secretary of State’s office and the Federal Election Commission on Monday. She joins five Democratic candidates in the race against Read More…
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will visit Iowa for events with Polk County Democrats and Attorney General Tom Miller in April. Bullock, a two-term Democrat and former attorney general from Republican-leaning Montana, has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2020. The trip will be his first to Iowa as governor. In a statement, Bullock Read More…
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A pro-Second Amendment section of John Kasich’s website was removed Sunday, after the Republican governor appeared on CNN and said reasonable gun control measures should be enacted following last week’s deadly Florida school shooting. JohnKasich.com, his political website that is separate from his governor’s site, had previously contained text and photos illustrating Read More…
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), who once spearheaded an unsuccessful bipartisan agreement to strengthen gun laws, said Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would expand background checks on firearm purchases, giving a jolt to gun-control efforts in the wake of last week’s mass shooting in Florida that left 17 Read More…
As Democrats make raising the minimum wage a centerpiece of their 2018 campaigns, and Republicans call for states to handle the issue, both are missing an important problem: Wage laws are poorly enforced, with workers often unable to recover back pay even after the government rules in their favor. That’s the conclusion of a nine-month Read More…
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was not attacking the FBI when he wrote on Twitter last weekend that the bureau spent “too much time trying to prove Russian collusion” and that it “missed all of the many signals” from the man police say killed 17 people at Read More…
You could feel the excitement. You could feel the cheering. As Mike Dennison detailed the millionaire after millionaire running for office this Fall, you could just imagine how excited the success-bashing Leftists were, sitting in their living rooms as they watched his report on the Montana Television Network. And then, you can imagine how the Read More…
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox (above) joined Tom Egelhoff on Open for Business to discuss the recent court decision concerning robocalls to Montana citizens. (Interview link at the bottom of the page) Montana US District Judge Charles Lovell, 88, a Reagan appointee, did not buy the argument of Dave Deshaw, of Victory Processing LLC, of Read More…
Democratic Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) voted in support of sanctuary cities Thursday. The vote prompting one of his potential Republican challengers to tie Tester once again to the vote to shutdown the government over illegal immigrants. As The Hill reports, several other more moderate Senate Democrats voted to crackdown on sanctuary cities, while Tester voted Read More…
A documentary that emerges as a political whodunit with Montana in the spotlight is among the films featured in this year’s 15th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which runs Feb. 16-25 in Missoula. A free showing of director Kimberly Reed’s “Dark Money” will be 7 p.m. Friday at The Wilma theater. Gov. Steve Bullock, Read More…
BOZEMAN -Republican U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing, charged multiple times for allegedly buying Montana resident hunting-and-fishing licenses when he was a non-resident, is going to trial – two weeks before his contested primary election. At a hearing Wednesday in Bozeman, Justice of the Peace Bryan Adams scheduled Downing’s trial for three days, from May 23-25. Read More…