Robinson says joining Gianforte ticket came as a surprise

Lesley Robinson and her husband Jim were at their home in Zortman one night in February watching a movie, when they received a call that would become a turning point in her political life.

Greg Gianforte, a high-tech businessman for Bozeman, who was then the leading Republican candidate for governor, was on the other end.

Gianforte, who had officially launched his campaign a month earlier, said he was looking for a running mate.

"And I said 'are you asking me for ideas?' He said, 'No, I am asking you if you would consider it," Robinson said during an interview Thursday.

She said she had met Gianforte at a Malta breakfast where he talked about the benefits of telecommuting.

Robinson, 50, said she did not expect the call, but her husband said he had.

"And I said, 'Well that makes one of us,'" Robinson said, adding that none of her five siblings whom she later called with the news were surprised either.

Following several discussions with Gianforte, she accepted the offer. In March, Gianforte officially announced that Robinson, a fourth-generation Phillips County rancher, would be his running mate.

They will face off against Bullock, a first-term Democrat, and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in November.

If elected, Robinson will be Montana's third female lieutenant governor.

Though on the same ticket, Gianforte and Robinson come from different backgrounds. Gianforte moved to Montana in the 1990s and lives in Bozeman. Robinson grew up on a ranch in Malta and since 1985 has lived and help run a ranch in Zortman that has been in her husband's family since the 1950s.

Gianforte has worked in the world of business and never run for political office. Robinson has held elected office since 2005.

"I think it's refreshing that we have a ticket that is very diverse," she said. "I think that we complement each other."

Campaign trail

Five months after being named Gianforte's ticket mate, Robinson divides her time between fulfilling her duties as Phillips County commissioner, a position she will hold until her term expires at the end of the year, and traveling the state.

Robinson said recently she logged 1,500 miles in one week traveling across the state.

She has gone from being a commissioner to being mentioned on newscasts, having her name emblazoned on campaign signs throughout the state and appearing in campaign ads.

But in many ways, she said, her life has remained the same.

Robinson said she has always maintained a demanding schedule.

In addition to being a county commissioner, she serves as western region executive on the National Association of Counties and is vice-chair of its public lands committee.

Robinson is president of the Western Interstate Region Board, and is a member of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, has sat on the board of the Bear Paw Economic Development Corporation and is active in a host of other organizations.

"Stepping into this role has not been that much different, except for a bigger area," she said.

Rural Montana

Before she accepted the number two spot on the ticket, Robinson said, she wanted to know that she would play an active role in a Gianforte administration.

She said she and Gianforte agreed that as lieutenant governor, Robinson would serve as a liaison to both the agricultural community and local governments in rural Montana.

Robinson said that, for far too long, representation for agriculture and rural Montana has been lacking.

"I am running for rural Montana to have a voice, because unless you've lived in rural Montana, you don't truly understand the challenges that we face," she said.

Gianforte's message promoting economic growth through technology and the need for Montana communities to draw back young workers who have left small rural towns due to a lack of high wage jobs, is something that can help revitalize small towns with shrinking tax bases, Robinson said.

"So I think that if you can bring a family back it brings kids to the schools, brings more volunteers for your ambulance your fire department all your local groups that need people to participate," she said.

Federal overreach

One of Gianforte and Robinson's consistent themes is the need to curtail and push back against what they call federal government overreach.

More decisions about land and resource management should be made by people "on the ground" at the county and state level, Robinson said.

She said this is especially important in parts of Montana, where large swaths of land are owned by either the state or federal government. In Phillips County for example, Robinson said, only 49 percent of land is privately owned.

She said Gianforte has talked with Republican governors in eight western states, and that if they come together to take action, they can push back against regulations that are detrimental to their state's economies.

"I think that if you can stand together and stand against the federal government on a lot of their overreach, I think that could help our economies," Robinson said.