Democrats seek support to be candidate

Several people who want to be the Democrats' nominee to replace Rep. Ryan Zinke pitched their candidacies to the Hill County Democrats during their monthly meeting in the Havre Eagles Club Tuesday

The forum took place the night before Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke was confirmed as secretary of the interior.

Under Montana law, a special election will be called 85 to 100 days after Zinke resigns from Congress to take up his new duties. Montana Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians from each county will send delegates from each county to their respective nominating conventions where a candidate will be selected by the party to run in the special election.

Eight are vying to be the Democratic party's candidate. Dan West of Missoula, a former U.S. Senate staffer and Obama administration appointee was at the meeting while four other candidates, state Reps. Amanda Curtis of Butte and Kelly McCarthy of Billings, musician Rob Quist and Whitefish resident Lee "Link" Neimark called in to the meeting

Each candidate had 10 minutes to talk.

Candidates John Meyer of Bozeman, Gary Stein of Missoula and Tom Weida of Helena did not take part.

Curtis, who unsuccessfully challenged then-Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., in the 2014 Senate race, said she was the only candidate to have been a statewide candidate, adding that she is the only candidate to have received 41 percent of the vote and that she raised about $1 million in a time frame similar to the upcoming race.

A high school math teacher and representative on the Board of the National Education Association, Curtis said she thinks it is important to send a qualified educator to D.C. after what she said is the recent turmoil surrounding the confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Curtis said she believes a progressives message will resonate with Montanans on both sides of the aisle.

Three-term representative McCarthy highlighted his role in an unsuccessful push this session to extend nondiscrimination protections to transgender, gay and lesbian citizens.

"We are going to get beat up on that one a little bit, but to me that was a hill worth dying on," McCarthy said, adding, "I think that being in the minority has taught me to be a better statesman and a better diplomat because you can't get anything done in Helena without friends from the other side."

He said that in the 2015 session his bipartisan work helped him pass 80 percent of the bills he carried.

He said his roots in Yellowstone County and his background as a veteran in both the U.S. Air Force and in intelligence would also be assets in the race.

Rob Quist, a musician and the co-founder of the Mission Mountain Wood Band who has gained the support of former Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, said he has visited 40 counties in the last month and a half and that the reaction to his campaign has been overwhelmingly positive.

Quist said through his travels he has received words of support from Montana's across the political spectrum and raised nearly $15,000.

"To win this election I think that we really have to appeal to all voters," Quist said.

Quist said that he believes his support for public lands, economic support for farmers and women's rights are issues that resonate with all Montanans.

Dan West, 30, said he believes it is time for the next generation to step up to run for public office, citing Havre state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, who took part in the meeting by phone from Helena, as an example.

West said his father is an East Asian studies professor and director of the Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana in Missoula, and his mother is a Korean immigrant who has been naturalized in the U.S. for 40 years. He holds a degree from Lewis and Clark College in physics. He later earned a master's degree in public policy and worked on the staffs of former Democratic Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Mark Udall of Colorodo.

After Udall lost his bid for re-election, West became the Obama administration's congressional liaison for NASA.

He said that to win, Democrats need to turn out the youth vote, talk to people from all backgrounds and get help from the national party.

Neimark, a coach, educator and businessman, described himself as a "very concerned citizen." He said people in Montana and throughout the nation are hurting right now.

"Right now, our democracy is being sold to the highest bidder. Right now, our democracy is fast becoming an oligarchy," Neimark said.