Dear John xxxxxx,

Thanks for supporting Gary last night at the Billings debate!  Please read below for Billings Gazette coverage of the debate. 

Tonight, Gary is in Bozeman for another debate!  Hosted by Montana PBS, the debate will be broadcast live at 7 PM on PBS, C-SPAN, and Yellowstone Public Radio.  Tune in! 
 

Best regards,

The Buchanan Brigade

Buchanan, Ronning present their cases against absent Rosendale

By Sam Wilson | Lee Montana newspapers

Two candidates for Montana’s eastern congressional district on Wednesday used the debate stage to define themselves as the best alternative to the incumbent Republican, who declined to participate.

The candidate forum held in the Petro Theatre on the campus of Montana State University Billings Wednesday and was sponsored by Lee Enterprises newspapers and Yellowstone Public Radio. It was moderated by Dr. Paul Pope, an associate professor of political science at MSUB. Panelists included Billings Gazette politics reporter Tom Lutey and YPR news director Nadya Faulx.

Rep. Matt Rosendale did not take part in the forum, saying he had a scheduling conflict. Libertarian candidate Sam Rankin had initially agreed to participate, but pulled out of the debate earlier on Wednesday. In a statement, he said he objected to the “one-minute answer format.”

Democrat Penny Ronning and Independent Gary Buchanan used the hour-long event to lob critiques at Rosendale, the frontrunner in the race to represent a deeply Republican district.

“One thing I will not do is I will not embarrass Montanans,” Buchanan declared, repeating his criticisms of Rosendale’s votes against awarding medals to all the police who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and against a bill supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Ronning suggested the incumbent’s approach to governing is more aligned with his own ideology than his constituents’.

“I think that’s something that we have to stop electing in our country,” Ronning said, “are people that have personal agendas and are headed to Washington D.C. to actually put their personal agenda, which I believe we have in Matt Rosendale right now.”

As the two highest-profile challengers to the incumbent, the candidates were asked to distinguish themselves as they work to win support from many of the same voters.

Ronning highlighted her experience as a former member of the Billings City Council and success working to get legislation passed at the state level.

“When you are talking to a majority Republican Legislature, you have to know what you’re doing and you have to know how to be able to make that legislation understandable,” Ronning said.

Buchanan said Montanans are “tired of excessive partisan bickering.”

“Republicans and Democrats are chasing people into the Independent sector, and I think I can represent that and I can talk to both parties,” he said. “I spent my entire career doing that.”

Ronning pointed to her party’s platform and said she’d bring to Congress “values that represent the working class.” She also called a vote for her independent rival “a throwaway vote for Montanans,” arguing that Congress is structured to favor a two-party system, unlike European parliamentary systems.

“I think that the two-party system has worked very well,” Ronning said. “I do think there’s been fractures within both parties, and those fractures need to be healed and those are things that all of us combined need to work on together.”

Buchanan repeatedly noted his endorsements from the two largest unions in Montana, the Montana Federation of Public Employees and the AFL-CIO. He referred repeatedly to his career as a successful businessman, and on issues from federal spending to the causes of inflation he sought to position himself in the center between Rosendale and Ronning.

While Ronning pinned the reasons for inflation on supply-chain issues, such as a lack of microchip shipments from China, Buchanan blamed federal spending by both parties.

Asked about how to best respond to climate change, Buchanan said he disagreed with the Build Back Better spending package as initially proposed by Democrats and the Biden administration, but supported the leaner bill that ultimately passed in August.

Both candidates said more needs to be done by the federal government to support Native Americans in Montana, particularly those living on reservations.

Ronning noted the extensive obstacles to economic development on reservations, such as lacking banks at which to cash checks.

“How challenging would that be on your tribal reservation land that you don’t have infrastructure to actually build commerce, to build businesses?” she asked. “... They’re experiencing it because of broken promises, they’re experiencing it because of broken treaties.”

Buchanan also said economic development and jobs were the No. 1 problem facing reservations.

“I think we have to work with the tribes from a state and federal level to help move them along in economic development and jobs,” he said.

Both candidates said that more needs to be done to end gun violence. Buchanan specifically said he would support background checks and red flag laws.

“It takes us getting around the table and having the conversation,” Ronning said, “and understanding that gun ownership is normal in America, but gun violence should never be normal in America.”

The two candidates found several areas of agreement. Both Ronning and Buchanan said they would support codifying the right to an abortion at the federal level, and both expressed concerns about unfounded allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

The next debate for the eastern district is hosted by Montana PBS and will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. inside the PBS Montana studio on the Montana State University campus in Bozeman. It will be broadcast on PBS, C-SPAN and Yellowstone Public Radio.

Buchanan, Rosendale and Ronning met the inclusion criteria and will participate.