Miller highlights congressional race in Chinook dinner

Though only one of the party’s candidates — former state legislator Ken Miller — was there, the upcoming election to replace Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont, dominated much of the discussion at the Blaine and Hill county Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Saturday night, a fundraiser for the local Republican party chapters in both counties.

Zinke, Montana’s only member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has been tapped by President Donald Trump to be the next secretary of the interior. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Zinke will then resign, triggering a special election for the seat within 85 days.

The Montana Republican, Democratic and Libertarian Parties will then hold their respective state conventions where delegates from each county will choose their party’s nominee.

Miller, the only Republican in a field of six vying to be the nominee who was at the dinner, said that in a normal election year all voters get to cast a ballot in the primary, but this year, Republicans will decide through each county party’s four voting members — chair, finance chair, state committeeman and state committeewoman — who will be their nominee.

“It’s a huge responsibility that you have and a huge responsibility that the four voting delegates have in taking your input,” Miller told the crowd.

He said the party needs a nominee who can win and stand with President Donald Trump.

“He’s going to need people with him who have a backbone that have proven to be able to stand up solid on these issues, no matter what is being said,” Miller said.

Before his speech, Miller said he believes that he and 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte will emerge from the field as the two strongest candidates for the nomination.

Miller added that many have concerns about whether Gianforte, a retired millionaire and businessman from Bozeman, can pull off a win after his loss to Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in November.

Miller said his voting record, combined with his experience in agriculture and as a small business owner, make him the party’s best chance to retain the seat they have held since 1997.

“I have a voting record and anybody knows who watched me when I was there (in the state Senate) knows it’s a solid constitutional conservative voting record that I had,” Miller told the crowd.

If Republicans are going to win it will be crucial that the party’s nominee be able to excite the base but also be relatable enough to appeal to voters who are not Republicans, he said.

Miller said he has a history of reaching out to voters across the political spectrum. He said that though he lost his first race for the state Senate in 1990, he was eventually able to persuade Democrats in the union-heavy, blue collar town of Laurel to cast a ballot for him in two elections.  

Miller said he was able to win over Democrats not by abandoning his conservative beliefs but emphasizing his passion for hunting and fishing; preserving open access to public lands and protecting jobs in natural resource development.

Douglas Stuart, a former primary candidate for the state senate, said that though he considers Gianforte a friend, he also had criticisms about how Gianforte ran his campaign for governor.

Stuart said he spoke with a Havre businessman last year who said that he was voting for Trump, but would be supporting Bullock in the race for governor.

Stuart said the man told him that he thought Gianforte was trying to buy the election.

He added that Gianforte was unable to make his wealth an asset in the campaign, something Donald Trump was able to do in his successful campaign for president.

Stuart also praised Miller for coming to the dinner.

“I would have to think twice if I was to write a check for $1,000 or more for Greg Gianforte — because you came to Blaine County,” Stuart said.

Blaine County Republican Central Committee Chair Don Richman told the crowd that it is crucial that the party unite around the eventual nominee because “any Republican is better than a Democrat.”