​Conclusion

“The race all comes down to the money. Whoever has the most money is the favorite to win, not the candidate who might be best equipped for the job or the best representative of the people or the issues they champion. Changing this dynamic appears nearly impossible in Montana or anywhere else in the country.”

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“Last week, a member of a major Montana outlet reached out for an interview with me, finally, after six months of my being in the race. In fact, the AP "story" circulated about me in June 2019 after I filed (a story then republished across the country) contained glaring errors that could have easily been corrected with a quick phone call or a few minutes of research.
 
No member of the press covered my campaign except an intern from Montana Public Radio who called after I filed and only asked me about fund raising in a two-minute brief. A few months ago, a reporter interviewed me about the other Democratic candidates for governor and then printed complete inaccuracies. This reporter never issued a correction, even when I provided sources for them to check. This last experience confirmed what I had gathered about the press in Montana since launching a statewide publication: they are insular, biased and absolutely unable to consistently expose truth. We can do better.”

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“Issues should be driving our political discourse. Sadly, this is not the case. Money and social status appear to be the deciding factors in the coverage of political campaigns creating a no-win cycle for many individuals qualified and ready to serve. The horse race reporting about campaigns in the state disenfranchises candidates and voters.”

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“I see Kim Dudik running a phenomenal race for Attorney General, running twice as hard as her primary opponent. I know she is used to the extra work by now in her career. She and I are not women born into influential families or working with wealthy clients in our professional careers. She has had her shoulder to the wheel of public service for decades and her background is truly more impressive than her opponent’s as far as a connection to state issues, work in the courts, and affiliation with regular citizens. But voters will be more inclined to choose the man with the education, family wealth and political legacy to represent them. Why?
 
For being the “liberal” party supposedly championing women’s rights, the Democratic party in Montana party often lacks inclusiveness and perpetuates the pervasive discrimination against women and low-income individuals embedded in our Western culture. I'm glad to see Dudik's message being covered by press outlets, even if they are outside of the state, in order to speak to our citizens here.”

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“I attended an event, a festival in a rural area of Montana last summer and, although we were invited as guests, we paid our own way in and looked for the Democrats who invited us. They were separated from every other person at the festival and one could assume from their stance as a small group that they would like to keep it that way. I had come to meet all types of people in the area so I strayed from the insular group who were talking amongst themselves and looking smugly at the rest of the crowd. These were Democrats in a red county and for the life of me I’ll never understand why so many continue to practice this us-against-them personal politics.”

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​Conclusion

“Bachmeier — the youngest serving state senator in the country after winning his seat in 2016 — said his duties with Big Sky 55 Plus, with whom he holds a full-time job, conflicted “time-wise, ethically and legally” with serving simultaneously in the Montana Legislature. He said he is concerned with the ethical implications of working with the PAC while serving as a lawmaker. Big Sky 55 Plus is an advocacy group that focuses on health care, Social Security and other issues of concern to older Montanans.”