GOP pulls upset in reservation district

In a night of upsets, Gilbert Bruce Meyers took the cake.

Republican Meyers was elected to the Montana House from District 32, one of the most reliably Democratic districts in Montana.

He ousted Clarena Brockie of Hays, who was elected two years ago when she defeated Tony Belcourt in the Democratic primary. Belcourt is now in federal prison for bribery and theft.

The district includes Rocky Boy's and Fort Belknap Indian reservations and some adjoining farmlands.

Democrats usually carry the reservations by margins of up to .20 to 1, and rarely do Republicans field candidates,

But Meyers carried on a unique social media campaign that reached people on both reservations. He campaigned heavily in nonreservation parts of the district, saying he was attractive to those voters because they have felt ignored in the past.

He said Native Americans have more in common with the Republicans than either they or the Republicans realize.

For instance, he said, most Native Americans have conservative social values more in sync with Helena Republicans than Democrats.

Regional and tribal differences didn’t seem to play a difference in the race.