Former legislator Zinke might consider Senate run

HELENA (AP) — Former state legislator Ryan Zinke of Whitefish said Wednesday he might consider a U.S. Senate run if the Montana Republican Party's big names don't get in the race.

The ex-Navy officer has been the focus of a recruitment effort by a political action committee called Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans for Congress. The group lauds his leadership in the famed SEAL Team Six and a biography that included a stint in the Montana state Senate.

Interest in the race has sharpened since six-term U.S. Sen. Max Baucus announced his retirement, giving Montana its first open U.S. Senate seat since the 1970s.

Zinke calls himself a "blue-collar" Republican who wants to stand up for all workers, and believes "government stops at the mailbox" when it comes to social issues. He also uncharacteristically commends some federal environmental protections as a way to preserve resources for future generations, but then criticizes federal forest mismanagement for failing to do much logging at all.

Zinke said Wednesday he is waiting to see if U.S. Rep. Steve Daines or former Gov. Marc Racicot enter the Republican primary. He predicts either would easily win.

"I am hoping for a Marc Racicot or a Steve Daines. I really hope Marc steps up and runs. I think he is victorious against any candidate," Zinke said. "And I think Steve Daines is one of the best candidates in office I have seen in a long time."

Two Republicans — state Rep. Champ Edmunds and former state Sen. Corey Stapleton of Billings — are running but so far have faced difficulty coalescing party support.

Zinke, who last year lost a primary race for lieutenant governor on Neil Livingstone's ticket, said that if he did run, he would focus a Senate campaign around a promise to rebuild trust in government

"No one trusts the government any more on either side. I think we have a trust crisis," Zinke said. "The debt crisis can be solved. That is a mechanical adjustment. The solutions are challenging, and they are going to be hard. But the greater crisis, I think, is the lack of trust."

Democrats have said they are waiting to see if former Gov. Brian Schweitzer enters the race. Schweitzer has said he is considering a run but has postponed a decision.

Zinke said he thinks the popular ex-governor could be defeated.

Zinke said Republicans, who meet this weekend in a convention that features two groups of current legislators openly battling each other, need to repair their party before campaign season.

"It is a fractured party. There is bad blood right now. I have watched from the sidelines, and it was very uncomfortable, the internal bickering," Zinke said. "The Republican Party also has to take some responsibility. We can't say we should be in power, when there is this tomfoolery."