Joel Krautter campaigns in Havre Sunday

Among the Republican figures in Havre for the Blaine and Hill County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Sunday evening was congressional candidate Joel Krautter, who touted himself as a voice of reason that could help bring a sense of stability to Washington.

Krautter, a former Sidney legislator, now an attorney in Billings, said the U.S. is incredibly divided at the moment, and he hopes to be one of many new leaders on the federal level who can restore some normalcy to an increasingly chaotic Congress.

He said this division has had a terrible cascading effect, which has led to a gridlock that is not only polarizing the country, but preventing basic problems from being addressed.

"We're so divided, there is so much anger and I think people (in Washington) are focusing on wanting to blame other people for those problems and kicking the can down the road instead of doing the hard work of solving those problems," he said.

Krautter said he wants to serve in the same vein as Republicans like the late Sen. John McCain, who were able to work with others they didn't necessarily agree with to get legislation passed and maintain the normal operating procedures of Congress which he said is increasingly under threat.

This division and chaos has manifested itself a number of ways, he said, but perhaps most notably with the situation at the U.S. southern border.

Krautter said he wants the Biden administration to do all it can to secure the border through executive order, but he realizes that can only go so far and Congress needs to find a solution.

He said he's hopeful some kind of agreement will be reached, at least in the short term, because this is an issue that can't be allowed to sit unaddressed for years, having seen the state of the border for himself recently.

The chaos he aims to combat, he said, has also affected basic things like the government staying open, with Congress operating on continuing resolutions rather than actually setting a budget and getting appropriations bills passed.

In his experience as a legislator, he said, he rarely got everything he wanted, and the nation's multi-trillion dollar deficit needs to be addressed urgently, but political divisions are preventing any real progress on this from being made.

He said there are really important things that need to get done, like a new Farm Bill for agriculture producers in Montana.

One thing that may help things along, he said, is creating rules to ensure single-issue bills, so that legislation can succeed or fail on its own merits instead of containing so many issues it becomes impossible for anyone to agree on it.

Krautter said he's lived in both rural and urban settings so he thinks he can effectively understand and represent the issues of both populations.

He said he wants to be an advocate for small businesses which make up so much of the state's economy as well.

As for his campaign and the upcoming elections, he said, he thinks the primary is more pivotal than the general election, as he's confident Republicans will win regardless.

He said he met with some voters earlier that day at Triple Dog Brewing Company, and while it was a small gathering it was clear that there was enthusiasm for his message and he's glad to have gotten some time to talk with individual voters on the Hi-Line.

Krautter said he fully intends to stay in the race if Rep. Matt Rosendale decides to run for reelection, which he hasn't yet.