Dennis Rehberg reenters politics in House race

Watch for profiles of other candidates in this and other races in upcoming editions of Havre Daily News.

Former Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., is returning to politics, running again for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives against a crowded primary field that doesn't include the seat's current occupant Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.

Rehberg said his campaign is an effort to curb the effects of the Joe Biden Administration's leadership of the country, which he said have been disastrous, for the sake of this generation and ones to come.

"I cannot allow him to destroy America as we know it," he said in an interview last week.

The race is in a very crowded field. Along with Rehberg, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who can't run for her current office due to term limits, state Auditor Troy Downing, Havre native Billings pharmacist Kyle Austin, Stacy Zinn of Helena, Ric Holden of Glendive, Joel Krautter of Billings, Ed Walker of Billings and Ken Bogner of Miles City are listed on the Montana Secretary of State website as Republican candidates.

On the Democratic side, the website lists Ming Cabrera of Billings, Steve Held of Broadus and John Driscoll of Helena as candidates.

Rehberg was Montana's sole Representative in the House from 2001 to 2013 after years in the Montana State House and a term as Gov. Marc Racicot's lieutenant governor after that.

Rehberg lost a close Senate race in 1996 race to incumbent Max Baucus, but would later win the 2000 election for the state's only seat in the U.S. House, a seat he would keep for six terms before losing another Senate race, to Jon Tester in 2012.

After losing that race, Rehberg managed his family's ranch and several fast food franchises.

Rehberg said his more-than-a decade's worth of congressional experience is the primary difference between himself and his many primary opponents, a difference he said is especially vital this cycle due to the sheer scale of the damage he says Biden has inflicted on the U.S.

"There's very little to debate," he said. "We all agree that we need to close the border. We need to bring down interest rates. We need to fix the economy, but what I bring to the race is experience and knowledge. ... We don't need someone who needs on the job training."

Rehberg said the state of the U.S. economy is the biggest priority for him, and the economy he claims is being destroyed by Biden through taxation, regulation and subsidization.

The consensus of economists is that the U.S. economy is doing far better than expected in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, despite many predictions to the contrary, did not trigger a recession.

However, Rehberg disagreed with this analysis.

"Those of us in small business will tell you," he said. "Look at the empty buildings and the signs that say 'help wanted.'"

He said more needs to be done to address the needs of small businesses, inducing lowering interest rates and "out of control wages."

When asked if he thinks wages are too high, he said no, rather that they are too volatile and, "you don't know from day to day what you are going to be paying."

However, he also said that any rise in the minimum wage will hurt small businesses and the consumers who will pay the price for it.

He also said inflation is still hurting businesses, and that while some sectors of the economy have bounced back, normal people are still hurting, as are many sectors that still haven't recovered.

Rehberg also said the culture of the U.S. workforce has been permanently changed due to the benefits the government provided during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he characterized as "paying people not to work," which he said people have gotten too used to.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that unemployment rates in 2023 were nearly identical to those of 2019, but Rehberg said those numbers are absolutely wrong because they were produced under Biden's presidency, adding that numbers can be made to say whatever a person wants them to.

The second biggest issue for Rehberg was the recent surge of migrants at the U.S. southern border, which he claimed the Biden administration was completely ignoring in favor of an "open border's policy."

The United States does not have an open borders policy, though many conservatives have characterized the southern border that way, favoring more restrictive policies.

Rehberg said former U.S. President Donald Trump was making progress toward solving the problem of immigration, but all of that progress was undone by Biden's election, and the U.S. needs to build a wall along the border.

He said while many immigrants have good reason to seek shelter in the U.S. the effect of too much immigration and permissive border policies on the U.S. and its economy are unacceptable.

He said he believes that Trump will be elected again this year, and that he moves fast, so Montana needs a representative that has enough experience to hit the ground running and keep up as they work to undo what Biden has done.

Rehberg said his seniority as a legislator will be an asset he hopes will put him back on committees that deal with appropriations, which will allow him to slow government spending, which he said is out of control, as well as committees that will allow him to end Biden's "war on fossil fuels," and make sure production agriculture is getting as much as it can out of the next Farm Bill.

He also said he wants to improve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and depicted the Affordable Care Act as putting insurers in charge of care rather than doctors.

On the more proactive side, he said, he also wants to use his influence to improve the U.S. transportation systems.

Rehberg said, in the aftermath of 9/11 the U.S. poured all of its resources into security in transportation, but now they need to focus on making the system as a whole better for the people who use it.

As for the campaign ahead, he said he is fully focused on winning the primary, and he couldn't even name who is running on the Democratic side of the race.