Montana legislative scorecard

[RobG]

Have you or anyone found anything about Walt Sales in (R) HD 69? (HD 69 is north and west of Belgrade) When he stepped up to replace Monforton, a bad guy, he was widely praised by everyone as reasonable and fair, but I don't know his stance on hunting/fishing issues.

 

[katqanna]

Rob, I dont know anything about Walt Sales, but found this TU video, working with Walt.

 

[Shotgun1]

Today we find out some possible future...I hope Jennifer Fielder loses and moves back to the Commie land she came from....

 

[RobG]

Results are posted here as they become available.

 

[shoots-straight]

Cautiously optimistic is my all I'm going to say. Holding my breath, is how important some of these local races are.

 

[Big Fin]

If Bruce Grubbs beats Art Wittich here in the Gallatin Valley, the primary election can be considered a success.

 

[tjones]

At this point how can 442 people vote for Fielder? SMH

 

[shoots-straight]

Fielders way out in front of her opponent.

 

[jryoung]

At this point how can 442 people vote for Fielder? SMH

You've been to Sanders County right? Gerald is the exception.

 

[RobG]

For State Supreme Court:
Juras "won" 44% and Sandifer came in 2nd with 34%. This means these two will run against each other in the general election.

Stream access advocates think Juras is a very BAD choice so the fact that she got more votes than Sandifer should make sportsmen nervous. This will be a race to tell our friends about.

 

[RobG]

Can't sleep...
Some wins, but

Well lets start with SD7 (Thompson Falls). This is currently held by Jennifer Fielder (R) (And if anyone on this forum does not know her they should) she is Montana's primary pusher for the state taking over of Federal Lands and has aligned herself with Utah politicians and the ALC, she is another out of stater trying to sell Montana down the river. Her republican opponent is Glen Ferren (R) (http://www.glennferren.com/issues). He is against the transfer of public lands. Jennifer needs to go.

Ferren got smoked, 34% to 64%. Who knows how he would have voted in the end, but he was sure trying to win the hunter vote and made the public lands transfer a big deal.

 

[RobG]

Helena SD40- (D) Joshua Manning V Hal Jacobson (http://helenair.com/of-democrats-in...cle_b5e4ff86-4cd2-5ccf-9427-b4e17d900309.html)

Hal Jacobson-"On the issue of public land management, he is staunchly against an attempt to transfer federal land ownership to the state".(Directly from the article).

(R) Terry Gauthier, Drew Turiano, and Carl Garcia. (http://helenair.com/news/politics/s...cle_88819d1d-e758-5e2f-af4e-0659f9a8f263.html)

Garcia says “States know best in my opinion rather than the feds,” he said. He is in support of the land transfer

Gauthier says-On the issue of public land management, Montana could not afford the ownership of federal lands, although individual transfers or sales may be appropriate on a case by case basis, he said.

Turiano says-“I believe the land should be transferred -- I believe it’s our land,” he said. “We can sell it. We can frack on it. It’s better having it in private hands because so much of our wealth comes from our natural resources.” (Wake up public land transfer supporters, this is what will happen should a transfer of public lands happen, at least this guy comes right out and tells the truth about what will happen to our lands)

Jacobson is the way to go and absolutely we should not take Turiano. (Turiano is another out of stater from New York)

Gauthier, the good guy on the public lands issue, won with 67% of the vote. I don't see him on the MSA endorsed list.

 

[RobG]

If Bruce Grubbs beats Art Wittich here in the Gallatin Valley, the primary election can be considered a success.

It was a success!
Grubbs: 45%
Wittich: 38%
Comstock: 16%

Walt Sales (Belgrade) also won so he'll be a huge improvement over Monforton.

Welch (Dillon) was Montana Sportsmen Alliance (MSA) endorsed and won by 96 votes so that should be good. MSA endorsed Wellborn (Dillon) and he also won with 57%.

 

[RobG]

I’ll annotate an article from the Bozeman Chronicle (http://www.bozemandailychronicle.co...d1d-8cc2-59c6-b779-10022a571133.html#comments) that talked about some important races.

Other Republican primaries to watch June 7
SD 3 (Whitefish, Kalispell): Rep. Keith Regier v. Don “K” Kaltschmidt
Regier is the conservative House majority leader being challenged by Kaltschmidt, owner of Don K Chevrolet Chrysler Subaru in Whitefish, who also has the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.

Thumbs down… Regier wins by 103 votes out of 3,369.

SD 10 (Great Falls): J.C. Kantorowicz v. Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, hoping to join the Senate, is neck-deep in a harsh, mud-slinging battle with the conservative Kantorowicz. Several campaign practice complaints have already been filed. .

Thumb up… Fitzpatrick wins with 70% of the vote.
It didn’t receive much press, but last session Fitzpatrick pushed a bill through that killed the Tea-ba*ggers’ plan to close the primaries in Montana. I thought it was very significant because closed primaries would prevent independents from voting in the republican primary which would make the party even more extreme.

SD 18 (Wibaux, Sidney, Glendive): Steve Hinebauch v. Casey Lee Brock v. Bret Smelser
Former Sidney mayor Bret Smelser was praised in a mailing by Montanans for Responsible Leadership last weekend.

Smelser 43%
Hiebauch 51%

SD 26 (Billings): Joshua Kotter v. Rodney Garcia v. Don Roberts
With Sen. Elsie Arntzen seeking the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction office, SD26 is up for grabs. Kotter is running as a constitutionalist, Garcia has spent just $600 of his own cash, and Roberts, a moderate, has raised and spent the most in this race.

Roberts 50%
Kotter 26%
Garcia 23%

SD 36 (Dillon): Dale Stewart v. Rep. Jeff Welborn
Welborn has voted against the caucus leaders enough to earn him the ire of hard-liners. He’s being challenged by Dale Stewart, backed by conservatives, including Sen. Jennifer Fielder, leader of the public lands transfer movement, for the chance to replace termed-out Sen. Debby Barrett.

Welborn 57%
Stewart 42%
Welborn is endorsed by MSA so this is a victory for hunters.

SD 40 (Helena): Drew Turiano v. Terry Gauthier
Gauthier, a McDonald’s franchise owner and former Marine, has the support of many, including some moderates, banking $12,000 in donations, while hard-line Turiano has reported only debts totaling more than $11,000.

Gauthier won with 67% of the vote. He opposes federal lands transfer so this is good news.

HD 11 (Kalispell, Lakeside): Derek Skees v. Jean Barragan
Skees, a former lawmaker and tea party activist, is hoping to replace Rep. Albert Olszewski, who is running for the Senate. But Barragan has raised nearly twice the money.

Thumbs down, Skees won by 44 votes out of 1,676

HD 18 (Conrad): Ann Morren v. Rep. Rob Cook
Morren, a conservative Catholic, is trying again to unseat Cook, an outspoken critic of hard-line politics.

Cook 57%
Morren 42%
Cook is supported by MSA so this is a win for us

HD 19 (Ulm, Sun River): Rep. Randy Pinocci v. Rep. Wendy McKamey
The moderate McKamey switched seats for this election so she could take on Pinocci, a freshman lawmaker whose constituents received a negative ad criticizing him for playing video games during hearings last session.

McKamey 61%
Pinocci 38%
Tea-b*gger Pinocci gone! Although McKamey didn’t score very high last session for hunters.

HD 20 (Great Falls): Sheridan Buck v. Fred Anderson
The conservative Buck is primarily self-financing ($12,000) her effort to claim this Great Falls House seat being vacated by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick. Anderson, a retired school administrator, has received $6,000 in donations, including some from other moderates and Fitzpatrick.

Anderson 57%
Buck 42%

HD 27 (Hingham, Fort Benton): Darrold Hutchinson v. James O’Hara
With moderate Rep. Roy Hollandsworth leaving, the conservative Darold Hutchinson is contending with Fort Benton’s James O’Hara.

Hutchinson 42%
O’Hara 57%

HD 35 (Sidney): Rep. Scott Staffanson v. Joel Krautter
The incumbent Staffanson is a Richland County native, but Krautter, a 28-year-old attorney from Deer Lodge, who once applied to be the state’s Commissioner of Political Practices, is benefiting from moderate donations and mailings against Staffanson, but denouncing them as a “smear tactic.”

Krautter 39%
Staffanson 60%

HD 40 (Roundup, Billings): Barry Usher v. Bruce Hoiland v. Pat Riley
Riley is leading fundraising in this three-way race against conservatives Usher and Hoiland.

Usher 38%
Riley 33%
Hoiland 28%

HD 67 (Belgrade): Rep. Tom Burnett v. Mike Houghton
Social conservative and welfare critic Tom Burnett is being challenged by the relatively moderate Mike Houghton, a teacher from Manhattan who ran and lost the HD 69 primary in 2014.

Burnett: 74%
Houghton 25%

Burnett is most famous for saying we could cure mental illness and stop the obesity epidemic if we would just ban alcohol and watch less porn. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.co...cle_13247d90-7c88-54d8-b319-39483a010c0d.html

HD 69 (Three Forks, Manhattan) Phil Olson v. Walt Sales
Farmer Walt Sales is being supported by other “traditional” Republicans against Phil Olson, a former Gallatin County commissioner, in the competition to replace freshman Rep. Matthew Monforton of Bozeman, who is not seeking re-election.

Sales: 65%
Olson: 34%
A big improvement over Monforton.

HD 72 (Dillon): Brooke Erb v. Tom Welch
In a recent letter to the editor, Beaverhead County Republican Chairwoman Nancy Johnson backed Erb, promising that Erb was the “true Republican” and wouldn’t vote with the “maverick” Republicans, in a reference to Rep. Jeff Welborn, who they are competing to replace.

Erb 48%
Welch: 51%
Welch was endorsed by MSA so this appears to be a win for hunters.

HD 80 (Helena, Wolf Creek, Elliston): Becky Beard v. Patrick Johnson v. Zachary Wirth
Beard has the endorsement of outgoing Rep. Mike Miller, a termed-out conservative.

Beard 42%
Johnson 33%
Wirth 23%

HD 85 (Hamilton, Darby): Rep. Theresa Manzella v. Scott Ralston
Manzella has a strong lead in fundraising but is also being targeted by negative advertising.

Manzella 54%
Ralston 45%
Ralston was MSA’s pick so this was a loss for hunters.

 

[shoots-straight]

Well done Rob.

We lost the Manzella race, one that I thought it would be a lot closer. I feel like Ali after the first Frazer fight.

 

[Schaaf]

Steve Hinebaugh's son told me if I wanted to hunt or fish than I need to go buy some land.

If there was any doubt where he stood.

 

[Sytes]

SD 10 (Great Falls): J.C. Kantorowicz v. Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, hoping to join the Senate, is neck-deep in a harsh, mud-slinging battle with the conservative Kantorowicz. Several campaign practice complaints have already been filed.

Thumb up… Fitzpatrick wins with 70% of the vote.
It didn’t receive much press, but last session Fitzpatrick pushed a bill through that killed the Tea-ba*ggers’ plan to close the primaries in Montana. I thought it was very significant because closed primaries would prevent independents from voting in the republican primary which would make the party even more extreme.

I had to do "old school" quoting to refrain from quoting your entire post - Maybe there is a way to snip just a portion of your post for quoting - I'll figure that out eventually.
Appreciate your time presenting this to us. Great collection of info. Seems more good than crap though the crap still stinks.

Have a question for you or any here, since you added this to the info shared, I figure my question stays on topic with your post:

The blue italic portion - Why should the dumbos or jackasses be required to hold open primaries in Montana? The point of primaries is so the dumbos and jackasses may choose who they feel best represents their party. If a Montanan desires to be non affiliated / Independent, more power to that person. Vote in the elections, sure however open primaries, I do not understand?

 

[katqanna]

Great job Rob. Add to that Bozeman Article

HD 68 Michael Comstock v. Art Wittich v. Bruce Grubbs

Comstock 258
Wittich 597
Grubbs 710

This is a big win for sportsmen.

 

[Nameless Range]

I had to do "old school" quoting to refrain from quoting your entire post - Maybe there is a way to snip just a portion of your post for quoting - I'll figure that out eventually.
Appreciate your time presenting this to us. Great collection of info. Seems more good than crap though the crap still stinks.

Have a question for you or any here, since you added this to the info shared, I figure my question stays on topic with your post:

The blue italic portion - Why should the dumbos or jackasses be required to hold open primaries in Montana? The point of primaries is so the dumbos and jackasses may choose who they feel best represents their party. If a Montanan desires to be non affiliated / Independent, more power to that person. Vote in the elections, sure however open primaries, I do not understand?

The one premise to keep in mind when reading my thoughts below is this: 26% of Americans are Republicans. 29% of Americans are Democrats. Over 40% identify as independent, and thus would have no say in closed primaries.

1. If we look at Dems/Repubs/Independents as subsets of the voting population, and we know that it is 99% likely that one of two options will prevail in the general election, then it makes sense that the largest subset of the voting population should have a say in who will ultimately prevail. Why shouldn't they?

2. Closed primaries allow the "base" of each party to be the chief concern of candidates who want to make it to the general election via the primary process. Because they don't have to concern themselves with the sane middle ground of America, the largest subset of the voting population, it results in candidates trying to "out-conservative" or "out-liberal" each other. This results in candidates for the general election being super far to the right/left. Further polarizing an already polarized voting populace.

3. If Independents could get on the ballots in the same way that Democrats and Republicans could, I would have less heartburn, but the fact is the system is rigged against running as an independent in Montana. It's very difficult.

 

[Sytes]

Thanks, Nameless. Fair enough. Not sure I agree with the process as it stands though appreciate the view and I further understand the interest to keep it an "Open Primary" state. Appreciate the post manner as well. Your response style is much more receptive to acknowledge.