Independent Gary Buchanan visits Great Falls on campaign trying to find partisan gaps

Without a U.S. Senate or gubernatorial race to be determined in the upcoming mid-term elections, the highest profile statewide election in Montana this year is undoubtedly the election for U.S. House of Representatives. Not only will Montanans be voting for two House seats this November – for the first time since 1990 – voters in House District 2, which includes Cascade County, will be presented with a ballot that includes four candidates: first-term Republican incumbent Matt Rosendale, Democratic candidate Penny Ronning and Libertarian Party candidate Sam Rankin, and Independent Gary Buchanan.

Buchanan comes to the eastern district House seat as a veteran state government staffer who has served six Montana governors under titles as diverse as Department of Commerce Director, Chairman of the Montana Banking Board, Chairman of the Board of Crime Control and as the former Chairman of the Nature Conservancy of Montana.

While not a household name, Buchanan has the distinction of endorsements from both former Republican Montana Governor Mark Racicot, and long-term State Democratic Senator Dorothy Bradley. Buchanan’s candidacy may hold appeal for both moderate Republicans who are uncomfortable with Rosendale’s hard right adherence to Trumpian politics, but who can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat, as well as to moderate Montana Democrats uncomfortable with liberal House leadership under Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Biden administration. That makes him a credible threat.

Buchanan was in Great Falls last Tuesday on a campaign stop and took some time to speak with the Great Falls Tribune about his campaign, his political philosophy and his chances of winning the election in November.

No candidate who is not a Republican has won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana since Democrat Pat Williams won re-election 30 years ago. What makes you think you can break that trend and unseat Rep. Matt Rosendale in the upcoming election?

“I filed for election after Rosendale failed to honor the Capital Police and voted against U.S. support for Ukraine,” Buchanan said. (Rosendale was one of 21 Republican legislators to vote against Congressional Gold Medal recognition for members of the Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department following the Jan. 6 Capital insurrection, and one of only three members of Congress to oppose U.S. material and financial support for Ukrainian forces opposing the Russian invasion.)

“Since then he’s voted against Finland and Sweden joining NATO. I just think he’s thoroughly out of step with the public.

“I’ve probably got a dozen conservative, traditional Republicans now who are supporting me; Mark Racicot, Jim Peterson – who was State Senate Majority Leader and head of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. Dave Lewis, my Treasurer, was head of the state budget committee and is a strong Republican. I’ve got support from the AFL-CIO on one side: the teacher’s union, the Federation of Public Employees. On the other side I’ve got businessmen from across the state.

“People are sick of the vitriol, the nasty behavior of parties picking on each other … and I don’t like what I’m seeing. I think a lot of Democrats and Republicans don’t like what’s going on in politics. Electoral officials, teachers, health care workers are all feeling under attack by our own state legislature, and I think our state Constitution is under attack.

“There’s a big ‘middle’ down the center of Montana politics right now. We think we’ve already thrown it into where the winner, whether it’s a Congresswoman or a Congressman, will not win by a majority. We think the winner will likely win with 38% to 40% of the vote. I really think we can win this by getting to 38% to 40% and I’m working my ass off. I think I’ve got a good shot.”

Do you think your campaign is at a disadvantage without the backing of a state political organization like the Montana Democratic Party or the Montana Republican Party?

“Well, I can’t ask for it because I’m running against it,” Buchanan responded. “Look, at this point I think we’ve got close to 500 volunteers across Montana working for this campaign, and I’d put our volunteer force up against any of the other candidates. Just yesterday we reached 1,800 distinct in-state campaign contributors – and that’s with no PACs (Political Action Committees), so we’re going to be competitive. We’re going to be able to afford the things that you’ve got to do in an election.”

“That’s probably the mirror opposite of Rosendale – his reliance on out-of-state money and PACs. We’re 98%-plus in in-state, individual money, and I’m really proud of that because I think the money thing is what’s wrong with U.S. politics. We’re not going to raise as much money as Rosendale, but we may not need it.”

In recent weeks the Democratic Party has made gains nationally in the polls, due in large part to the backlash from the overturn of Roe v. Wade and state legislatures in many Republican-controlled states implementing laws that either severely restrict a woman’s access to abortion or ban it entirely. What is your stance on abortion?

“I’m pro-choice,” Buchanan said. “I think that decision should be between a woman, her family and a physician.”

“I think the repeal of Roe v. Wade has changed the dynamic of the campaign. I’ve watched Republicans who feel strongly about Pro-Life really start to back up, and we’re seeing that nationally. I think women’s choice, women’s rights, human rights is now really close to the top of the issues I’m talking and hearing about. Last night there were a bunch of young women (at a Buchanan campaign rally) making sure that they understood what I meant.

"Where I go is back to the Constitution, and the right of privacy is part of it. I think a lot of other groups; lesbian, gay groups, are worried - who’s next?’

“It is a states issue, but as long as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R -South Carolina) continues to push his idea its going to continue to keep backfiring among many Republicans. I was hesitant to talk about codifying Roe v. Wade, but I no longer am because I’m watching what Graham and others are doing. If I was in Congress I would support codifying Roe v. Wade. I think it’s a clear difference between Rosendale and I.”

The other big issue coming up in the midterms is the state of the economy. Do you think the Biden Administration has done everything it can to lower inflation and improve the economy?

“No, I don’t” Buchanan replied. “For example, I’m against the President’s student loan forgiveness policy. I think there’s ways to restructure it. When I was Chairman of the Banking Board in the 1980s we had a lot of banks that we had to restructure to save those banks – but a debt’s a debt, a loan’s a loan and a bond’s a bond. I don’t like putting $600 billion more in, and I think we’re in really great risk of overstimulating the economy with federal dollars.

“I admire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. I think he was Trump’s best appointment and delighted Biden re-appointed him.

“We do not want to go back to the early 1980s when mortgage rates were up around 17%. I was a broker at Merrill Lynch at that time and I was selling six-month CDs at 18%. The farm crisis and real estate and everything else was happening at the same time. We cannot go there. It’s tough, it’s painful. I support the Fed even though its hard on my IRA. I think we have to do it so we’re not walking into ‘stagflation’ or much higher interest rates.

“Inflation is right up there along with women’s rights as the two top issues right now.”

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Montana U.S. House race includes Independent trying to break GOP hold