Four Montana Republicans are running in the June 5 primary election for a chance to unseat Montana’s senior U.S. Senator, Democrat Jon Tester, in the Nov. 6 general election. The Montana Free Press surveyed the four candidates to see where they stand on 10 key issues. The candidates were asked to respond in 50 words or less to each question. Below are their responses, edited only for length and style. Continue Reading →
U.S. Senate
Recent Posts
Chuck Johnson remembers John Melcher
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Former U.S. Sen. John Melcher, who died Thursday in Missoula at age 93, was a leading congressional supporter of federal farm bills and programs to fight hunger here and around the world. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, John Melcher, U.S. Senate
GOP Senate race challenges establishment
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Because I am a great American, I listened to two recent debates between Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate. You can hear them here and here. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Al Olszewski, Jon Tester, Matt Rosendale, Russ Fagg, Troy Downing, U.S. Senate
Lee Metcalf, Montana senator, national progressive leader
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This is Part 2 of a two-day package of stories marking the 40th anniversary of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Yesterday we looked at how the wilderness came into being. For Montanans, there’s not much question about the importance of Lee Metcalf’s legacy. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: News, Lee Metcalf, Mike Mansfield, U.S. House, U.S. Senate
Daines tours Missoula brewery, dodges waiting citizens
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U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., stopped in Missoula for a quick tour of the Big Sky Brewing facility on Wednesday, where he declined to meet with the two-dozen people who had gathered to participate in what the senator’s office had billed as a meeting with “local officials, community leaders and constituents.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Big Sky Brewing, Steve Daines, U.S. Senate
Prairie Lights: Pushed into a corner, politicians deflect
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I’m still trying to decide who had the worst response to last week’s political scandals — Roy Moore down in Alabama or Troy Downing here in Montana. Moore is the Republican U.S. Senate candidate who brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai and presented them to the chosen people of Montgomery, Ala. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, Jon Tester, Roy Moore, Troy Downing, U.S. Senate
Montana Viewpoint: Reflections on a futile filibuster
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The recent attempt by Senate Democrats to keep Neil Gorsuch off the Supreme Court puzzles me, largely because the results were predictable, and even Democratic senators should have been able to see that. First, the tactic the Democrats used, the filibuster, has never been successful in defeating a nominee for associate justice of the Supreme Court. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Neil Gorsuch, President Trump, Supreme Court, U.S. Senate
Decades later, Mansfield’s thoughts on politics ring true
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Marc Johnson doesn’t pretend to know how to fix our broken political system, but he figures a good start would be to encourage people to learn about and reflect on our history. That’s why he recently launched a podcast called “Many Things Considered,” the motto of which is “Looking to politics past to make sense of politics present.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Gallatin Public Affairs, Marc Johnson, Mike Mansfield, Pat Williams, Trent Lott, U.S. Senate
Opinion: How to make the Electoral College work
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Start with history. The framers stipulated that electors vote for two persons, with the first and second top vote-getters certified by the Senate as president and vice president. It seemed elegant until the framers were forced to recognize that when electors vote for two people in one go, the executive branch might split between rivals. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Bill of Rights, Constitution, Electoral College, U.S. Senate
Opinion: Counting down the Senate’s days of shame
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Tick, tick, tick. Today we are counting down on the Republican Senate’s days of shame. The GOP-led U.S. Senate is on a summer break. Count them: For 54 days, from July 14 to Sept. 6, both the House and Senate are on the longest summer break since those breaks were first established in the 1960s. (more…) Continue Reading →