Quist stumps for Congress in Havre

Democratic congressional candidate Rob Quist said Friday in Havre that he is optimistic about his chances in Thursday's election.

"I think we are about to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Montana," Quist said to the crowd, which erupted in applause and cheers.

The event in Havre's Triple Dog Brewing Co. was one of several held by the Quist campaign Friday, with stops also made in Hays, Chinook and later Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

Quist, a founder of the Mission Mountain Wood Band and a first-time political candidate; former candidate for governor Republican Greg Gianforte; and Libertarian Mark Wicks, a rancher from Inverness, are vying for Montana's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat became vacant in March when Ryan Zinke resigned to become Interior secretary in President Donald Trump's cabinet.

The 85-day long race has received national attention, and with less than a week left Quist said he has seen tremendous energy for his campaign. Though Trump carried Montana by 20 points in November, the latest polls show Gianforte with a lead of 6 to 8 points.

In a press release Thursday, Quist's campaign said it has now raised more than $5 million, with an average contribution of $25.

Quist said people have told him that in the town of Dillion and in Glacier County, "Republicans for Quist" have sprouted up. He predicted he will win Gallatin County, which includes Gianforte's hometown of Bozeman.

Gianforte lost Gallatin County by 15 points last November in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

Throughout the campaign in direct mail pieces and TV ads, Gianforte and outside groups have painted Quist as too liberal for Montana and someone who if elected will be beholden to House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Quist said Gianforte has sought to portray him as someone who "is in bed with Nancy Pelosi."

"I think I would've remembered that," Quist said.

He added that attacks like that are acts of desperation.

Gianforte has had money pouring from national Republican groups and high-profile national Republicans like Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. campaigning for him in Montana, Quist said.

Quist said health care is now the top issue.

House Republicans narrowly passed the American Health Care Act, also known by critics as Trumpcare three weeks ago. Quist said the bill is nothing more than a tax cut for the wealthy.

He said the bill would take away health insurance from 70,000 Montanans who have gained coverage through the state's Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Quist said the bill would also do away with protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

"This is just a bad bill all the way around," he said.

Democrats have pounced on Gianforte's inconsistent stance on the bill. When he visited Havre May 4, he said he opposed the act that at that time had failed to pass the House. He said any replacement of Obamacare must preserve protections for people with pre-existing conditions, reduce premiums and protect rural access.

When the act passed, Gianforte sent out a release saying he would have to study the bill before he could say he would have voted for it. But in a tape of a conference call with Republican leaning lobbyists, the New York Times reported Gianforte said he was thankful it had passed.

Quist said another issue that splits the two candidates is public lands. The election is a fight for the soul of Montana, he said. Quist assailed Gianforte for past donations to organizations such as Americans for Prosperity and the Property and Environment Research Center or PERC, an organization he said opposes Montana's stream access laws.

"If you look at some of these groups that he has given thousands of dollars to, these are groups that are after our public lands," he said.

Quist hit Gianforte for having former Texas governor and now Secretary of Energy Rick Perry campaign with him in last year's governor's race. He said that, unlike Montana, Texas has very little public land.

"There is no place to recreate in this big state of Texas. Rick Perry has always advocated for transferring public lands," Quist said. He added transfer of federal land to state control and eventually private hands is "nothing more than theft against our children and our grandchildren."

Gianforte has said he supports access to public lands and opposes transfer of federal lands to the state.

Gianforte and outside groups have also said throughout the campaign that Quist supports a national gun registry, based on a comment he made about registering assault rifles.

Quist has said he does not support a gun registry.

Quist said growing up on a ranch he learned about guns and gun safety from a very early age and called it "a time-honored tradition." He added he has been endorsed by the Montana Sportsman's Alliance for his stance preserving access to public lands.

Quist also said he opposes cuts to public education. He criticized cuts proposed in Trump's 2018 budget proposal that would slash the budget for the U.S. Department of Education by $9 billion. The cuts proposed by Trump would include after-school programs and Pell grants.

"We have to protect our public education, we have to protect our education funding, and every day that this seat sits empty it becomes more and more vital that Montana has a voice in what happens in this country," Quist said.