State And Federal Candidates: Here's A Look At Them

As election season comes towards a close and voters, who might not have kept up with all the changes in the last few months, might be wondering who made it to the final ballot. As sometimes heated battles have come up between the candidates there have been a few changes.

One of the more notable changes that took place on a higher level in our state include John Walsh stepping down from the Democratic candidacy for U.S. Senate after a plagiarism issue that came up and he tried to take the foot out of his mouth after stating that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) may have been to blame. Amanda Curtis was appointed to take his place in the race by the Democratic party.

With new district lines drawn out, that has shifted some voters in Glasgow and around the county, some new candidates could be on your ballot based on where the new lines have fallen. So who's on the final ballot after primaries for federal and state?

U.S. Senate

Candidates for U.S. Senate are Amanda Curtis-D and Steve Daines-R. Danies took Valley County votes by a landslide in the primary with 1,143 votes over the 198 votes that went to Champ Edmunds and Susan Clindiff. Daines has been serving as the U.S. Representative for Montana's at-large congressional district and has been successful in business. He announced he would run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2010, but stepped aside after a complaint was filed on a radio ad. He never officially filed for candidacy and stepped aside when U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg announced his intent to run. He announced his candidacy for Rehberg's open House seat and took the position, winning in 48 out of 56 counties.

Curtis is not as well known. She currently is a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing Butte. She is a teacher of math and physics. She has said that she grew up in a poor family and she values her education and stated that education is a way out of poverty. Curtis was unopposed in the 2012 election for her current seat. She's seen a firestorm of media attention as she has spoken up about gun laws and has looked at expanded background checks. She has stated that gun violence effected her family after her brother killed himself playing Russian roulette and died at 16.

One more candidate is on the ballot on the Libertarian ticket. Roger Roots ran uncontested in the primary on the Libertarian ticket. He was previously the Libertarian candidate for the Secretary of State in 2012. He has a background in behavioral sciences and criminal justice. According to his website his recent work has been focused on fully informed jury movement, the reestablishment of the Fourth Amendment protections and the establishment of fair and equal court system for all participants.

U.S. Congress

U.S. Congressional candidates that would take Daines' current seat are Ryan Zinke-R and John Lewis-D. While Zinke wasn't the first choice in the primary in Valley County, he did take third out of five candidates with 291votes, with Corey Stapleton being the favorite here with 520 votes. Zinke took the win overall in the state.

Zinke served as a Montana State Senator for district two from 2009 to 2011, most of his career was spent in the Navy SEALs. Zinke faced criticism after referring to Hillary Clinton as the “Antichrist,” later commenting that his statement may have been a little harsh as he was referring to Benghazi where the U.S. should focus their attentions on the “real enemy.” Zinke visited with The Glasgow Courier and said that the focus will be on dealing with the issues, looking at the wise use of resources, and improvements on infrastructure and communications in the state.

Lewis worked for Senator Max Baucus for 12 years. He wasn't the top pick for Valley County, taking 299 votes. John Driscoll took 314 votes, making it a close call, but overall in the state Lewis came out on top with close to 60 percent of the votes. He started as a field organizer during the 2002 re-election campaign for Baucus and continued to rise up through the ranks as staff for Baucus, becoming his state director in 2012.

The Libertarian candidate on the ballot is Mike Fellows, who's not a stranger to the ballot. He's been on the ballot for U.S. Representative in 2010, 2008, 2004, 2002 and 1998. He was the chair of the Montana Libertarian Party in 2006. He was also candidate for the Montana Secretary of State in 2000. He was a candidate for a district in the state House. His website states that he's running because there is no fiscal conservative representing Montana. “Congress continues to spend like drunken sailors,” he states on his site.

Montana Supreme Court

Montana Supreme Court has two seats open this election season. David Herbert will face incumbent James Rice for the first seat. The primary statewide showed voters preferring the incumbent, Rice took about 76 percent of the votes. In Valley County Rice took 1,412 votes over 341 votes in the primary. Herbert is a podiatrist, but he also holds a law practice in Billings. He specializes in mediation and arbitration. He ran for election in Wyoming for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and for U.S. Representative seat in 2008 on the Libertarian ticket.

Rice has served on the Montana Supreme Court since 2001. Rice has legislative experience, serving as a state legislator from 1988 to 1995. He has stated that the experience has helped him avoid legislating form the bench.

In the second seat again the incumbent faces a newcomer. Incumbent Michael Wheat will face off with Lawrence VanDyke on the ballot. Wheat was favored in Valley County with 990 votes in the primary, versus the 517 votes that went towards VanDyke. Wheat was appointed in 2010, prior to that time he served in the state senate from 2002 to 2005. He served as an attorney in a private practice and as a county deputy attorney.

VanDyke's eligibility to run in the race was challenge in court, but his appeal won in the supreme court. VanDyke has faced that challenge because he hasn't practiced law in Montana for five years before running. He was admitted to practice in Montana in 2005, but has practiced in other states. VanDyke recently came to Glasgow for a meet and greet with constituents and explained that he was focused on the intent of the law and that his outside experience may bring a fresh perspective to the court. He is an appellate (appeals) lawyer, who specializes in constitutional law.

Public Service Commissioner

It's a non-contested race. Travis Kavulla has been serving in the position since 2010. His district is geographically the largest in the state. He also serves on the National Regulatory Research Institute and on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. He's also the co-chair for Northern Tier Transmission Group and chair on the Public Utility Commissioners Energy Imbalance Market. He's worked as a journalist, writing about political economy, culture and development. He's well educated and well published.

State Representative Dist. 31

The uncontested candidate for state representatives in Bridget Smith-D in District 31. She was elected to the chamber in 2012. She has served on Fish, Wildlife and Parks, judiciary and transportation committees. She defeated Bill Whitehead in the Democratic primary, and no candidates filed in the Republican primary. This district covers the southwestern side of Glasgow and Valley County and a small tail that goes along the Milk River and a little bit north of the highway.

State Representative Dist. 33

Mike Lang-R and Michael Morse Finley-D are facing off in District 33. Lang took the primary over Floyd Hopstad-D 481 votes to 261 votes. Hopstad, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, later dropped out of the race and was replaced by Finley. Lang was also unopposed in the Republican primary. Lang had also gone up against Hopstad in the 2012 election. The district covers the most northern part of Valley County. You could follow the highway all the way from Glasgow through Havre and go to the Canadian border for constituents.

Lang served as a representative in District 35 in the last legislative session, he's now in District 33. Lang has been on agriculture, business and labor, and federal relations, energy and telecommunications committees. Lang grew up in Malta and has a background in business and established Northern Ag Service in downtown Malta.

Finley is from the Havre, and has lived on the Hi-Line since 1989. Finley said in a phone call that running was sort of a bucket list item. He said that he isn't really out there campaigning, but recently retired from the railroad. He got a phone call from the Democratic party asking him to run and he wasn't even sure how they got his name, perhaps it was from the time he voted for himself as a write in a few years back, he thought. He said that he probably doesn't have much chance for winning, but he wanted to give voters a choice. He's worked in Glasgow, Malta and Havre. He said that his father's family was from the Chinook area.

State Representative

District 34

Austin Knudsen-R faces off against Gene Hartsock-D in the general election. In the primary Knudsen took 453 votes and Hartsock came in behind with only 183 votes in the county. The district covers the northeast corner of Glasgow and north of the highway up to the Canadian and North Dakota border.

Knudsen is from Culbertson. When he visited at The Courier, he explained that Glasgow is new to his district. Currently he is serving for District 36, and won two terms in 2010 and in 2012. He was unopposed in 2012, but took two-thirds of the vote in his district against Julie French-D in the 2010 election. He has served on rules, taxation, legislative administration (vice chair), and the federal relations, energy and telecommunications committees. He has a background in law, and practices as an attorney.

Hartsock, of Glasgow, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He commented in a phone call that he isn't putting much out there to the voters, but people can make a choice.

Issues On The Ballot

A constitutional amendment has been proposed by legislature, but it's more like a housekeeping item. The amendment, titled C-45, focuses on changing the name for the office of state auditor to the commissioner of securities and insurance (CSI) in the state constitution. The office's duties won't change. Supporters like the name change because it brings clarity to what they do. The state Senate approved C-45 with 72 percent in favor and the house vote was almost 99 percent in favor of the change.

The second statewide ballot issue is legislative referendum, No. 126. This is being referred to as the “late voter registration” referendum. The legislation would change the deadline for voters to register up to the poll closing time on Election Day to the 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to the election. The argument is that it would protect the integrity of elections and ensure compliance with the National Voter Registration Act. The other side argues that this is an attack on voter rights. Currently if you miss the regular registration deadline for voting (30 days before an election) you can register to vote up to the closing of the polls. In the state house vote 58 percent approved, in the state senate just over 59 percent approved.