Williams stumps for Congress while in Havre

Democratic candidate for the U.S House of Representatives Kathleen Williams talked with voters at Triple Dog Brewing Co. Thursday, part of her eight- day Opportunity tour across Montana.

She said in an interview that in the past three days the tour has taken her from Opportunity to Anaconda, Chouteau, Browning, Cut Bank and Shelby.

Today she will have meetings with Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director and Montana Senate candidate Paul Tuss and Montana State University-Northern Provost Neil Mosey. She will hold a meet and greet at the Our Saviour's Lutheran Church on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation at 1 p.m.

Williams is making a bid to be the Democratic candidate to challenge Gianforte this November for Montana's only U.S. House seat.

She is competing against former U.S. Justice Department Attorney Jared Pettinato of Whitefish, former Five Valley Land Trust Executive Director Grant Kier of Missoula, attorney John Heenan of Billings and John Meyers of Bozeman in the June 5 Democratic primary.

Former state Sen. Lynda Moss, D-Billings, tweeted Thursday that she has ended her campaign.

The winner of the primary will go up against Gianforte, Libertarian Elinor Swanson of Billings and Green Party candidate Doug Campbell of Bozeman.

Williams said she is running for the U.S. House because she believes Congress is broken.

"I don't see them really being able to solve problems. I don't see them being able to work together," she said.

Williams was born in a U.S Army hospital in San Francisco, the youngest of four daughters of a World War II veteran. She graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins with a Masters of Science in recreational resources.

She moved from Oregon to Montana 24 years ago to work for the Environmental Quality Council, where she was on the staff of the council between the sessions and worked as legislative staff during legislative sessions.

Though not a Montana native, Williams said that it is the first place that has felt like home to her.

"I've been here 24 years and can't imagine being anywhere else," Williams said.

She was recently an associate director at the Western Landowner's Alliance but is now campaigning full-time.

Williams first ran for the Montana House in 2010 and served in the House during the 2011, 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. Constituents of her district that encompassed eastern Bozeman and eastern Gallatin County included Gianforte.

As the only candidate left in the Democratic primary who has held elected office, Williams said she is uniquely prepared to serve in Congress.

"For me, the experience of finding common ground during three terms in the state Legislature, which is also divisive and hyper-partisan, and being in the minority and being able to pass really important legislation is really important ground for exactly what needs to be done," Williams said.

Williams added that she believes that she can better reflect the interests of Montanans than Gianforte has.

"My idea is to be more representative than what we have now," she said.

She said Gianforte has been inconsistent on the issue of fiscal responsibility.

When Gianforte was first sworn into the U.S. House last year he championed a bill that would deny lawmakers a salary unless they could balance the budget, yet he also voted to support the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that she said has increased the national debt.

The tax cuts for wealthy Americans that were in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed last December, and signed into law by Trump, should be repealed, Williams said.

Williams said that having served as a ranking vice-chair on the House Committee on Taxation, she is very interested in issues of equitable taxation.

"I can hit the ground running on that," she said.