It's time for the electioneering for the Special Election to fill now Secretary Zinke's vacant House Seat.

Democrat Party candidacy likelihood?

Republican Party candidacy likelihood?

What's the odds on it being a mail-in election only?

General comments and gripes.

Democrat: not a clue.
Repub: My guess is Gianforte at this point.

I would guess mail in ballots, as it is cheaper I believe to do that than have polling places and all the staff.

If the Dems are smart, it will be Quist, if they act in their normal manner, Curtis.

Gianforte has the money and backing of Daines, but just fucking lost an election. From what I'm hearing on the inside, the MTGOP is happy that Zinke is gone as he was too conservative for them and too close to Trump for their liking.

One thing I'm not sure the MTGOP quite fully grasps regarding this election is that it will be the first national level referendum on the legitimacy of the Trump Presidency.

Gird yourselves, MT Arf Bro's because the campaign ads for the next 60 days will be insane and like nothing we've ever seen before.

Looks like the Demos have that socialist gal from Butte as a front-runner.

Dems will choose either Curtis or Quist

GOP will Choose Butterey or Gianforte

I don't see the parties picking anybody else, as this seat has remained in GOP hands for quite a while now, I don't see it going to the Dems in this special election, as normal unless it is for the governorship, we always go for the GOP.

If this election is anything like the General election in Nov, I actually believe the dem's will have another low turn out

If the GOP chooses Gianforte and the Dems choose Quist, I'm not so sure the GOP would win.

Well of course with our goofy elections, you never know, I have known both Quist and Gianforte for a number years now, but I still believe that Gianforte with his run for Governor last year has far more recognition than Quist does.  Outside the liberal strong holds, Gianforte actually did good in the election.

I know if they pick either of the others, Curtis is a dead stick and Buttrey has been a middle of the road politician for most of his career.

One thing I do know, the future will give us the answers we seek!

You'd make a great political analyst.

Bullock would've lost if the GOP ran someone else.  

If you want to win elections in MT, you need to be from here.  And if you aren't from here, definitely don't be from libtard shitholes like Jersey.

MT GOP is retarded as usual and will run whomever has the most money.

I guarantee you if gianforte runs we will lose, even to that moonbat crazy bitch from butte!!!

If anyone but gianforte runs under the GOP, I guarantee we will win.

I don't know, the liberals keep harping on Daines as being from California and how he is not from here, and he has been here since he was 2 years old and now he has won two terms.

I don't know that the GOP is stupid, but I do know that many of the voters are stupid in this state, I can't believe some of the shit that keeps popping up in the press in this state, hell if you want to have fun, just visit the opinion pages at the Missoulian every once in a while, you will end up just shaking your head in amazement!

The Dems picked Rob Quist as their nominee. This surprises me as I expected them to go full retard and pick Curtis.

If the GOP picks Gianforte, spends millions after losing millions on the Gov race, the Nat'l GOP will disavow the MT GOP .

Other than Missoula and a couple of small areas around the state, that could be Rob's downfall, that simple statement right there.

Only if they care enough to vote, and the message gets out.

I did not see yet, mail ballot or polling?

Last I saw it had passed one part of the legislature, but not the other. I am not in favor of a mail only election as it favors the Dems and their proclivity for fraud.

Looks like they picked Gianforte..  gads.

For those wondering where Mr. Quist stands on some of the bigger national issues.  Prepare to be disgusted...

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/rob-quist-touring-state-lobbying-dems-ahead-of-u-s/article_1b0c9fc5-83f6-5e3d-85d9-0ecd8d353b66.html

Based on the current political climate, I believe Greg will beat Rob, if for no more than the brand recognition he gained by running for Gov last term.  Unfortunately the only ones we get to hear from these days, is the population centers and their extreme positions, they do not hold the majority of population in Montana.  I keep reading that Greg is such an extremist, but he did pull 46% of the vote against a well established politician in the last election and he is not a stupid person.  He has aspirations to become a political force and that is what he spent his money on.  Right now, he holds a double digit lead over Rob in name recognition as well as favorable ratings.

Rob is not anti gun, but he is for stronger gun control,  He has made the same mistake that many do and that is to call AR's an Assault Rifle.  We know it is not!  Many like to say Greg sued to cut off access, which was so distorted in the election last year, he sued for definition on an existing access spot, Montana FWP fucked that whole thing up by not taking it serious, as they often do when a conflict comes up, they ignore instead of address.  I have worked with MFWP on many projects over the years and they have done it forever, they try to take the middle of the road on issues and all they do is piss people off on both sides of issues.

If Greg turns down a bit of the rhetoric this time, he has a very good chance of winning this, just based on the fact that people recognize his name now, I am friends with both of them and have known both of them for several years now, both at good people, but for those of us that are pro, Greg is a far better choice than Rob.

The key to this, is making sure people vote!  we had low turn outs last election, fortunately the republicans turned out better than the democrats so we got those in office that works for what we believe in, and it is up to us to make sure people get out this time.  The democrats want to make this a referendum against the republicans and it is up to us and those like us, to make sure that does not happen!

In reading Quists' own words in the Bozeman Chronicle article he is for;

#1 - Ban on all semi-automatic modern sporting rifles,
#2 - full gun registration,
#3 - socialized medicine,
#4 - supporting the Bernie Sanders agenda, and a
#5 - left-wing social justice agenda.

Quist was/is against the Afghan war where the 9/11 attacks were planned from, and terrorist OSBL was based.

He has a severely distorted view of the US budget claiming that the US military budget takes up 64% of the budget when in fact it only makes up 15% (but 50% of the discretionary budget). He's totally out to lunch in not knowing that 70% of the US budget is non-discretionary (aka entitlements), and will increasingly put severe pressure on the overall US budget, and national debt.

Quist is nothing but an Amanda Curtis with man-parts, a cowboy hat, and a folksy persona to hoodwink the folks that don't look at what he actually says and stands for.

Typical left-wing Democrap BS.

I'm afraid you're right.

More info on Quist.

Missoulian

What is it with musicians getting into places they don't belong?

First, I get passed over for a promotion in the Army, because another guy has a degree.....IN MUSIC THEORY (no, the unit was NOT the Army band). Meanwhile, I only had real world experience and could actually do the job (for the record, it was electronics related, and he couldn't troubleshoot a system if you gave him a flow chart). Ya, that was the point when I decided to look for a different job, and I'm in a better place, now.

More recently, a major political party picks someone as a candidate for my Representative, whose primary occupation is musician? Guess who I'm NOT voting for? Don't get me wrong. It goes a lot farther than the fact that his biggest claim to fame is being a musician, but still....I just don't think a Mission Mountain Wood Band style hippie festival is going to fix what's wrong with DC. How does he plan to get his ideas through the legislature? Is he going to serenade the House with a song?

Nothing against musicians, personally, and nothing against finding someone who isn't a career politician to run for office, but (preaching to the choir, I know) this dude is NOT who we need.

The BS about Gianforte being from NJ irritates me.  How long does someone have to live here before they're a Montanan?  He's lived here for over 20 years, built a business here, and donated a bunch of money here.  He's a Christian, conservative, and friendly.  I had an unscheduled opportunity to talk to him for almost 20 minutes during his last campaign.  He's very likeable and seemed pretty straight forward to me.  I voted for him then and I'll vote for him again.

BTW, I've lived here almost 27 years now.  As I told Greg when I met him, "I wasn't born in Montana, but I got here as fast as I could.  It's not so much where a man starts that matters.  It's more about where he ends up.  That's where he'll most likely do the most good."

Well said and agreed.

Let the robo call Olympics begin.  Call this evening from the questions was Republican.

This is the best the Dems can turn out?  A liar who can't manage his personal finances? He would be an embarrassment for MT.

You forgot likely tax evader considering he lied about not working in 2011 in a lawsuit but played 35 shows. This shouldn't surprise you considering they put up Amanda Curtis, whose is a loon and whose husband is a Wobbly after their preferred candidate Walsh got caught plagiarizing his master's thesis, which to begin with was written at the level of an underachieving high school student.

Have a feeling there is a lot more dirt out there on the Quist's.  Not that I care but didn't they vet the candidate?  Let's not assume this is a cake walk.  We still need to show up in mass and vote.

Quist is already complaining about the lack of support. But the Democraps in MT know that their Sheeple will yank the lever for whomever they roll out.  

I imagine if they could resurrect Josif Stalin, Chairman Mao or Pol Pot the typical MT Democrat would vote for them just because the party chose them, and they follow party orders. And the average Demo voter will overlook Quist's years of shady financial issues.

Quist is a stealth candidate. Looks good on the outside with the cowboy hat but still a hard core anti-gun Democrap as his own words indicate.

He'll appeal to the Elmer Fudd crowd that think anything aside from their elk rifle and pheasant shotgun isn't a firearm that should be owned.

The BIG problem are the Libretarians. We wouldn't have Tester if it wasn't for the Libretarian vote that bled off enough votes to get him elected. If Gianforte loses it will be because of the Libretarian vote.

Maybe the Dems don't feel the need to, because Gianforte's face is already buried in as much mud as it can carry from the Governor's race? That stuff is still fresh, it hasn't had a chance to dry and flake off, yet.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/hunting-records-of-u-s-house-candidates-released/article_a84373e0-16b4-5229-8857-9d96514aece1.html?utm_content=buffer83a76&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=LEEDCC+

The MT GOP needs to dump the public-lands transfer BS.  There's overwhelming support for retaining public lands in the state.

And Gianforte needs to realize that access to public lands isn't because of gated roads on public lands, it's the certain private land owners that are blocking roads to public lands.

And Quist hunting/fishing license lack-there-off info shows that Quist is full of it in his two Win 94 TV ads.  As usual the Democraps are the party of lying.

I sent a request to the Montana Sportsmen Alliance asking if they were aware that Mr. Quist had not purchased a hunting or fishing license in the last 16 years.  Curious if they were aware of that.

[email protected]

Well, it goes to show how much you don't know about public land transfers. If it's being transferred from the feds to the state, it's still public but managed by another group. The State of MT is way more friendly to even recreational use than the feds are. Do you like forest roads being closed off to create new wilderness and monument areas? Because that's what the feds have been doing. They can't buy more lands, so they go to shutter the lands they have now.


You're right. He needs to learn it's the feds that gate off and close off great chunks of lands more than private land owners, and we have hunter run public access groups here that buy into this shit that only benefit rich land or horse owners who have the time and money to access these lands we once did. When a private land owner closes off access to a trail or one road, that's it, and you just cut the lock. When the government does it. They close off the road miles before the are that's supposed to be closed, slowly tun it into part of the another wilderness area because no one ever used the road they gated off, and then they can charge you with a felony for driving on a road that is listed to open, that they decided to close off and never open without listening to the public like they have just done in the bitterroot. Like when the FS just closed off road access to 110k acres of land even after everyone at the public meetings were against it, so they moved the public meetings away from Hamilton to Missoula to stop people against it from speaking while allowing more people to say they were for it.

You're pretty much falling into the Democrats BS by going "If Republicans just gave up on what they wanted and do whatever the Democrats want, maybe they would win sometimes!"  Bold strategy we got here. Just give up on your beliefs, principles, values, morals, and just do whatever the lefties want to get a vote. perfect strategy.

You know, there is overwhelming support here for for background checks for gun purchases.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/poll-finds-montana-city-favors-background-checks-on-gun-sales/article_1ac4dd38-2d1f-57d6-9e47-554b66137bac.html

Maybe the Republicans here should just instate them to win some votes. Grand plan we have. Just capitulate to the left every chance we have to stop the utter encroachment of our lives by the feds.

Not trying to be an ass, and I don't know you. But I never would have thought people bought into the Quist BS in Montana, but after reading your comment I can see how people would vote for him because of the lies and misinformation they've been fed. "The GOP IS  BAD! The Missoulian told me! Republicans must support abortion and every other commie agenda because it's not popular! Give up on everything you believe in to just win, despite the fact that winning doesn't really matter when you don't have to support stuff you want just to pander for a vote!"

Quist claims to be taking "rural Montana values" to DC, but after reading this article I'm wondering what he thinks those "values" might be?

http://freebeacon.com/politics/montana-democrat-rob-quist-regular-performer-nudist-resort/

Quists son lays out and sunbathes in the parking area of the place he lives in Creston, which his father happens to own. Other tenants (some with children) on the property have complained, but his son pretty much runs the place like a slum, so nothing happens.

Maybe during the debate someone should ask the candidates:

Have you had any contact with Law Enforcement that resulted in them taking an enforcement action?

Just a gut feeling there is more out there.

Listen bud, if you read any of my other posts on this thread and elsewhere on theis state forum you'd see I'm not a Democrat or a Quist fan. I'm an independent Conservative.  As an Independent there is plenty to criticize both parties on. And for you to imply that my comments are an endorsement of Quist is BS.

And you're cherry-picking, blowing things way out of proportion, flat-out misinterpreting and going way out on a plank in your comments.

Not only do all sportsmans groups favor retaining fed ownership of public lands but so do all the timber companies as does the state govt.

I have 35 years of natural resource mgt. experience to fall back on all over MT and Idaho, and have tons of more experience than you when it comes to that and land exchanges. More times than not the public takes it in the shorts when the FS has to exchange lands with some rich person who buys cut-over Plum Creek land then wants prime FS land to build another ski resort. How much elk hunting goes on on the public lands that Big Sky resort now has mgt of?  There's blocks of former Plum Creek lands up Hwy 12 that are blocked off right now because some rich private person bought them after the Plum Creek land exchange fell through that would have transferred them to NFS mgt., which would have kept all that open to public use, because some rich guy wanted prime NFS lands to develop outside Bozeman.

And there's tons of public lands blocked off from public access by private landowners.It's common knowledge that MT has some of the worst access to public lands in the US, and that's because non-fed/state landowners block off access to public lands.

When you say..."When a private land owner closes off access to a trail or one road, that's it, and you just cut the lock."...I guess you're endorsing trespass unless they're blocking access where there's a right-of-way. Case-in-point right now Ravalli County is dealing with a private land owner that has posted no trespassing signs for years on a road that the FS and County has right-of-way on so that land owner has been blocking public access to public lands for a long-time. I've lost count of the number of hunters I know that can't get access to hunt big game and turkeys in the Bitterroot Valley, and have expressed that to MTFWP, and they know that.

If you're on NFS lands just because there's a gated road doesn't mean you don't have access to what's behind it. It's the manner that you wish to access it that is controlled. So when you come across a gate you still have access, just walk or ride your horse around the gate. Right now there's thousands of miles of FS roads available to motorized vehicles and bicycles, and much more than that for walking and horse-riding. There's plenty of science that clearly shows that an excess of motorized use causes damage to the environment, wildlife and increases the spread and establishment of invasive weeds that degrade wildlife habitat. Plus none of those roads existed before a bulldozer created them. You have full access to everything behind a gate you just have to get some exercise.

By saying that hunter run public access groups, like the RMEF, are benefitting rich land owners is a load of it. The RMEF works real hard to acquire public access to public lands by buying/trading land for it from private land owners where FS/BLM roads don't have clear access.

And to imply I'm for background checks on firearms purchases is BS. That poll was flawed and fixed. A more local poll stated that Bozeman had more than 50% in favor of background checks than Missoula which was only 33%.  But if you want to believe George Soros run polls then that's up to you.

The Missoulian doesn't tell me how to think, and President Trump isn't in favor of public lands transfers so do you think he's a left-wing Democrat?

You're right you don't know me but you're doing a good job at your making your first point by trying to put words into my mouth.

Wonder if Quist drops his pants while playing his guitar so he can fit in

Wonder if Quist will do the "full Monty" and ride a bike in the next "nude" bicycle ride in Missoula that Engen/Missoula City council approves?

I am most assuredly voting for Gianforte.

I consider myself more of an independent than a republican or democrat.  I don't really like either party all that much; I vote conservative.

I'm not happy with Gianforte going straight to a negative ad campaign...I just don't think it was necessary....Quist is just patently unqualified...seems like Gianforte could have stuck to facts, and his own qualifications.

What they could have stuck to and what they do stick in this current political climate is two entirely different things, right now, it is the goal to destroy your opposition at all costs and do it from day one.

You have to remember that is why, Trump is the President

There is no way that tax dead beat, lying, banjo playa can hang in DC. Would he still wear the cowboy hat (that never saw cowboying) on the East Coast??? Is he going to have a private banjo session for Pelosi?

Dude has some skeletons in his closets that have not emerged yet.