Juneau campaigns in Havre

Democratic congressional candidate Denise Juneau pushed back against a negative ad by the campaign of Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., defended her stance on several issues and predicted high turnout in Tuesday’s election during a campaign stop in Havre last week.

An ad from Zinke’s campaign alleges that  during Juneau’s time as superintendent of Public Instruction, a legislative audit found that 64 individuals with criminal histories were hired as school bus drivers during the 2011-2012 school year.

“We do the job of making sure students are learning, that we are setting the academic standards. We are setting licensing rules, but it is the job of local districts to hire and fire,” she  said.

The NBC Montana story from 2013 referenced in the ad quoted Juneau after the finding saying that OPI would recommend to the Montana Board of Education that they alter its administrative rules and mandate that districts carry out background checks on potential bus drivers.

Juneau said Zinke has run a negative campaign because he lacks a record of accomplishment during his time in the House.

“I have actually done the job Montanans elected me to do as superintendent, raising graduation rates, working with communities across the state, Congressman Zinke can’t say the same,” she said. “The fact that he went negative with ads right away, distorting my record, putting those types of things out, I think says a lot: that he is scared that he is going to lose.”

Both campaigns and groups supporting each candidate have aired ads attacking their opponent.

Last month, House Majority PAC, a political action committee dedicated to picking up congressional seats for Democrats across the country, released an ad portraying Zinke as too self-absorbed to care about Montanans.

Zinke said in an interview last week that many of those PACs are funded by anti coal interests.

Juneau said the ad comes from a national group and such groups are not required to disclose their donors.

“The national groups, you really can’t say what kind of money is behind them, and that is why we need to fix it and make sure we get the big money out of politics,” she said.

Zinke has also sought to portray Juneau as too liberal and out of touch with Montanans. In an interview earlier in the week, he said that she was “pro-gun control” and criticized her support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

In turn, Juneau said Zinke is taking his marching orders from national Republicans.

She said that she is for the Second Amendment. She also described the Affordable Care Act as “a mixed bag.”

“We need to make sure we are fixing it, but every time the extremists like Congressman Zinke vote to throw it out they are wasting taxpayer time and money,” she said. “We know what the issues are, we need to fix it.”

Juneau, a member of the  Mandan Hidatsa Tribes and descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe, would be the first American Indian woman elected to Congress.

She predicted record turnout as volunteers go from registering voters to mobilizing them.

“I think we are going to see huge turnout across the state, but I think particularly in Indian Country, there has been a real movement, and there are a lot of people on the ground making sure people are getting out to vote,” Juneau said.