Dear John xxxxxx,

In case you missed it, please read and share this article from Gary’s visit to Lewistown!

‘An eight lane highway down the middle’ - Gary Buchanan, independent for Congress, talks about campaign on visit to Lewistown

By Will Briggs | Lewistown News-Argus

Tuesday, September 13, 2022
 

Despite serving under six different Montana governors, Gary Buchanan is running in his first election in over five decades. That time, he won the presidency of his high school’s Letterman’s Club. This election for a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives, however, is a little more complicated.

Buchanan, the state’s first Director of the Department of Commerce, has chaired a number of state boards, including the Board of Investments, the Montana Banking Board, and the Board of Crime Control, founded the Billings financial firm Buchanan Capital in 2002. Those stints came under governors Judge, Schwinden, Racicot, Martz, Schweitzer, and Bullock, a list that spans decades and is comprised of four Democrats and two Republicans. 

Now running a race of his own, Buchanan, along with Republican Matt Rosendale, Democrat Penny Ronning, and Libertarian Sam Rankin, is one of four candidates on the ballot this fall for the newly-created Montana Second Congressional District, which covers eastern and Central Montana. Because he’s running as an independent, Buchanan had to qualify for the ballot via petition, with about 450 volunteers canvasing for signatures across the district.

“It’s a pretty unique effort. An independent congressional campaign like this hasn’t really been tried in Montana,” Buchanan said.

Indeed, the last time eastern and Central Montana was represented in the U.S. by someone other than a Republican or Democrat was over a century ago. Caldwell Edwards, a member of the old Populist Party, won election to Montana’s at-large congressional district in 1900 before retiring after one term in office.

In defiance of that history, Buchanan has been traveling around the district, stopping in Lewistown this past weekend. He held a meet-and-greet at the Elks Club Friday night and set up a tent to serve coffee and talk with prospective voters at the Chokecherry Festival Saturday.

‘I’m taking votes from both of them’

When asked why he decided to run, Buchanan has a simple answer.

“I decided to run when embarrassment became shame,” Buchanan said. “Matt Rosendale voted against commending the Capitol Police [by awarding them the Congressional Gold Star] after January 6th and against providing assistance to Ukraine. After the Ukraine vote, a friend said, ‘why don’t you do something about it?’ and I filed to run a few days after.”

Aside from those two votes, Buchanan finds plenty to object to in both major parties’ programs and nominees.

“I think we’re at a critical juncture in Montana politics. People are fed up with party politics and politicians beating up on them. Montanans get along, but existing politicians are tearing us apart,” he said. “My objective is to go down the big eight lane highway down the middle and win.”

Buchanan opposed, for instance, the Build Back Better bill Democrats tried unsuccessfully to pass through the U.S. Senate earlier this year, as well as the calls of various liberal activists to “defund the police” and the Biden administration’s recent move to forgive up to $10,000 of student loan debt for individual borrowers (or $20,000 for federal Pell Grant recipients).

At the same time, he criticized what he sees as potential Republican-led attacks on the Montana State Constitution, including its provisions guaranteeing a right to privacy covering abortion and gay marriage, and a clean environment. 

“The Montana state constitution is the best state constitution in the country,” he said. “The right to privacy in it is absolute.”

Similarly, he criticized Rosendale for sponsoring a bill to repeal the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, which reserves revenue from federal excise taxes on firearms to fund state fish and wildlife agencies.

“That bill supports Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and our hunters and anglers,” he said. “The NRA and sportsman’s groups are all opposed to the bill,”

Buchanan’s “down the middle approach” to campaigning has been echoed in the endorsements he’s received. His event at the Elks Club, for instance, featured Jim Peterson, a Republican and the former State Senate Majority Leader. Meanwhile, he’s received the endorsement of the Montana AFL-CIO and the Montana Federation of Public Employees, two of the state’s largest labor unions who have supported past Democratic nominees. 

Once-political rivals have even coalesced around his candidacy, with one of Buchanan’s old bosses, former Gov. Racicot, a Republican, and Dorothy Bradley, his Democratic opponent in the 1992 governor’s race, both endorsing Buchanan. He’s pleased to have attracted support, and attacks, from both sides of the aisle.

“Over the course of one weekend, Penny Ronning said I was a closet Republican and Matt Rosendale called me a closet Democrat,” Buchanan said. “I’m taking votes from both of them. That’s exactly what we’re trying for.” 

 If elected…

In that spirit, if elected, Buchanan promises not to caucus with either Republicans or Democrats in the House.  

“They’d probably give me a broom closet for an office once I got to Washington,” he joked. “But that’d be fine.”

Buchanan said the number one issue he wants to address if elected is inflation.

“I’m personally equipped to handle that issue,” he said. “I was the state’s first Director of the Department of Commerce and my background in pensions and finance would allow me to make intelligent votes on inflation.”

Other issues of interest for Buchanan include agriculture and crime.

“I worked with Japan, China, and Taiwan on grain and cattle deals,” he said. “And I’ve led and supported four initiatives to increase police funding and recruitment in Billings.”

Buchanan hopes his less partisan approach to politics resonates with voters.

“I won’t embarrass the state,” he said. “I’ll vote for bills that help the state and I won’t oppose those bills for ideological reasons.”

Could he really defy the history of independent and third party candidates across the state and country, though? Buchanan smiled.

“We’re pushing $400,000 in fundraising so far and we’re on our way to $750,000, mostly from in-state donors,” he said. “We think we’ve already thrown the race into a position where there will be a plurality winner.”

That alone would be a new result to go with a new congressional district.