Democrats stump at Get Out the Vote rally in Havre

Some high-profile Democrats were in Havre Tuesday at a rally wrapping up a Get Out the Vote tour in the area. "We have a very important election coming up real soon," Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney said during the potluck event Monday at the regional Democratic headquarters in Havre.

More than 100 people attended the event, where U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., U.S. House of Representatives candidate Kathleen Williams, Montana Supreme Court clerk candidate Rex Renk, Public Service Commission candidate Doug Kaercher and state Senate candidate Paul Tuss spoke about their individual campaigns.

Tester is defending his seat in the U.S. Senate against Republican challenger Montana Auditor Matt Rosendale and Libertarian Rick Breckenridge; Williams is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., in his re-election bid; Renk is facing off against Libertarian Roger Roots of Livingtson and Republican Bowen Greenwood of Helena; Kaercher is facing Sun River Republican candidate Randy Pinocci, and Tuss is challenging incumbent Montana Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester.

The Havre stop followed rallies on the Rocky Boy's and Fort Belknap Indian reservations earlier Monday.

Cooney said change needs to happen in the state and federal government.

"There is a lot of things going on in this country that just aren't right. There is a lot of people that would say the train's kind of gone off the tracks," Cooney said.

He added that what people can do to get the country back on track is to get everyone out to vote.

"The Legislature is so important," Cooney, a former state senator, representative and secretary of state, said. "Gov. (Steve) Bullock has one more legislative session as governor ,and if he is going to get anything done we have got to make some changes in that Legislature.

"We have gotta get some people who are going to be willing to work with the governor and me, to try to get some things done. That's why we need Paul Tuss as our next state senator and make sure that Jacob Bachmeier comes back as your representative," he said.

Cooney said Williams is a great candidate for the U.S. House. He said she is committed and has proven that she would work hard to make sure everyday Montanans are heard. Williams' committment to working hands-on with the people and property represents Montana values, he added.

Tester, Cooney said, has proven that he represents all Montana, has worked hard for veterans and other groups in the state and displays Montana values.

Tester is someone who has grown up in the state, Cooney added, someone who cares about everyday Montanans.

"We have some really good candidates on the ballot," he said.

Tester said the differences between him and his opponent, Rosendale, couldn't be wider.

"Here's the truth," he said, "a few short years ago my opponent said the federal government has no business owning land, to get rid of it. One of the things that make this state great is our public lands."

In a response this morning from Rosendale's office, a representative said, "Matt will always protect and fight to expand access to our public lands. He's listened to the people of Montana and he opposes a federal lands transfer. While serving on the Montana Land Board, Matt's increased access to 45,000 acres for more hunting, fishing, hiking, for more public access."

At a rally in Havre in 2014 while campaigning for the U.S. House of Representatives, Rosendale said a top priority for him would have been the state taking possession, or at least control of, federal land in Montana.

Tester said one thing he has been working on and has had some success in is funding the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. This fund, he added, will improve access to public lands.

He said he has also been working on getting lower costs for health care, something that his opponent has been opposed to.

"We have not been successful because there has not been a bipartisan effort to do such," he added.

"We, us, the middle class, are having a hard time making ends meet because insurance rates are so damn high," Tester said.

Tester said Rosendale has allowed increases in insurance rates since becoming the Montana auditor, rubber-stamping rate increases without making the insurance companies justify the increases.

Tester said if Montana wants someone in the Senate who will work in a bipartisan way to drive down health insurance rates, the choice is clear.

Rosendale wants to kick people with pre-existing conditions off health insurance, Tester said. He added that Rosendale wants to sell junk plans to Montanans.

"Junk plans that don't cover anything, the worst kind of insurance in the world," Tester said.

Rosendale's office said this morning that the problem was Tester's vote to approve the Affordable Care Act that led to rate increases.

"Jon Tester doesn't get to rewrite history here," the representative said.

Tester said he also has worked hard to increase care for veterans, and the system is not perfect but he will continue to work on making sure the men and women who have served their country receive proper care.

He added that Rosendale has shown in the past he will not work for veterans' care. Rosendale didn't want to fund Purple Heart veteran scholarships, Gold Star families' housing loans or the veterans homes in Columbia Falls and Butte while he was in the Legislature, Tester said.

"Tell me how he's got any credit with the veterans whatsoever," he added.

His representative said Rosendale does support those programs and has worked on other programs for veterans.

Tester also said outside groups are spending huge amounts of money supporting Rosendale.

"Instead of doing things that help promote the democracy, he wants to buy the democracy," he said.

Rosendale's office said Tester also is benefitting from millions and millions of dollars from groups buying ads.

This is a close race, Tester said, and everyone needs to come out to vote.

"We need to have people who are willing to have meetings and meet with people and take the ideas of Montanans back to Washington, D.C.," Tester said, "which is what I've done and which is what I will continue to do."

Kathleen Williams

Williams said that there is a lot of contrast between her and her opponent, but the bottom line, she said, is that she thinks Montana deserves better. She added that she was very proud of receiving an endorsement from Montana Natives Vote earlier that day while at Fort Belknap.

"Gianforte promised to be a voice for Montanans. ... He doesn't meet with Montanans. He represents special interests," Williams said.

Gianforte wouldn't hold any public meetings on his wilderness study area bill, she said, so she and her team held a public meeting.

"We showed that Montanans can come together," Williams said, "even if they've got really passionate interests on all sides on an issue. They can come together, they can have a civil dialogue, they can learn from each other, and they can give me good suggestions moving forward."

She said she invited Gianforte but he didn't come. He later organized his own, Williams added, and her team sent Gianforte notes from her meeting, "so he could learn from Montanans coming together."

Gianforte promised to be a champion for agriculture, but as a trade war has been "looming and booming," Williams said, Gianforte was given the opportunity to sign a letter with 107 of his Republican colleagues in the House opposing broad tariffs, but did not.

Gianforte promised to stand up for seniors, she said, but he sided with Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said Social Security and Medicare needed to be on the chopping block, and Senate President Mitch McConnell, who is talking about reforming both.

Williams said Gianforte promised to stand up for public lands but proposed to remove protections for more than 770,000 acres of wilderness study areas without any public input.

Gianforte promised to bring Montana a good health care system, she said, but he has supported the Graham-Cassidy proposal, which would remove protections for people with pre-existing conditions, charge seniors more and roll back expanded Medicaid.

"So help me now, Montana deserves better," she said.

A representative from Gianforte's office said this morning that those claims are false.

"Just like a professional politician, Kathleen Williams is willing to say anything to get elected," the representative said. "Even if it means lying about Greg's record and his work with President Trump. Her dishonest attacks against Greg are a calculated effort to distract from her liberal record and extreme Obama-Pelosi agenda."

Kaercher

Kaercher said he was very grateful for everyone who has helped him campaign across the state. He said his campaign has been a grassroots campaign and would not be possible without all the support from the different communities he has been to.

"I do really want to thank you," he said. "I'm also going to thank one other person and that is my wife, Darla. She's been there the whole time, right by my side, all the way through this thing and I really appreciate that."

He said the message that is being put out there is that he has the experience to do a good job on the Public Service Commission.

"I have the experience and that makes me the best choice on the ballot," Kaercher said. "It makes me the most reasonable and responsible candidate."

Tuss

Tuss said he is very glad everyone attended the event, adding people are energized in Havre.

"Rural Montana is better when Democrats win," Tuss said. "...Whether the issue is supporting our rural hospitals, that are hanging on by the skin of their teeth right now, whether the issue is public access to public lands, whether the issue is supporting vibrant main streets and small business, these are all issues ... we win through arguments every single time."

He said it's important for everyone in the community to elected Democrats on Election Day.

He added that his campaign and the other candidates' campaigns would not be where they are now without the support and hard work of the volunteers.

Rex Renk

Renk said that this year's election is very important and Montana needs Tester's leadership in Congress. Tester is Montana's voice and that voice needs to be back in office, Renk said.

It is also imperative for Montana that Williams gets elected, he added, because she is a person of unity and who listens to people rather than further dividing people.

"It's not just an off-year election," Renk said.

Renk said the office of clerk for Montana Supreme Court is important because it is the public face of the Supreme Court. Renk added that the office assures that all Montanans have fair, equal and open access to the court records but also protects people's privacy when the law requires it.

"For over 23 years I've been serving with Ed Smith, our current clerk of the Supreme Court," Renk said, "to make sure that our office is run in a professional and independent manner."

He said, although the office of the clerk of the Montana Supreme Court is a partisan election, politics as well as special interests need to stay out of the office.

"Experience matters," Renk said, adding that he has support from more than 40 clerks of courts, seven retired state Supreme Court justices and a former clerk of the United States Supreme Court.

"These public officials know that I am running because I really love this job and I have the proven record of treating Montanans fairly when they come before this court," Renk said.

"Make our X for Rex," he said, "and by that I mean carefully fill in your oval."