Mid Term Election - Zinke vs D TBD

Any theories as to why Zinke, who had to be the presumptive favorite, would bow out? Is it just because the prospect of being in the minority post-26 sounds like no fun?

I don't know if it has to be any deeper than his press release, which is medical stuff. I also couldn't imagine being in my mid 60s, and wanting to spend a large amount of time in Washington DC, or even working for that matter. Though I have plenty of dispute with a lot of what he has done over the years, he's certainly put in his time.

That said, I wouldn't be shocked if two years from now he was on some board somewhere doing pretty well for himself.
 
As an aside, I'd have much rather had Christi Jacobsen hold on and run for Governor against who likely be Knudsen, which is something she'd alluded to in the past. Over time, I've come to care far more about the State Elected positions than the DC ones. The State ones have way more acute influence on my hunting and fishing, and thus my life.
 
I don't know if it has to be any deeper than his press release, which is medical stuff. I also couldn't imagine being in my mid 60s, and wanting to spend a large amount of time in Washington DC, or even working for that matter. Though I have plenty of dispute with a lot of what he has done over the years, he's certainly put in his time.

That said, I wouldn't be shocked if two years from now he was on some board somewhere doing pretty well for himself.
Good points. I suspect Zinke has gotten over his wanting to be a big shot politically and spending all that time in DC and in the middle of contentious controversy. You may recall that at first of Trump's campaigns he was searching for the VP candidate and the freshman Congressman Zinke, said "Pick me!" My impression is that Zinke has always been a power "climber". Perhaps the physical, emotional, and hyper political aspects have weakened that drive.
 
As an aside, I'd have much rather had Christi Jacobsen hold on and run for Governor against who likely be Knudsen, which is something she'd alluded to in the past. Over time, I've come to care far more about the State Elected positions than the DC ones. The State ones have way more acute influence on my hunting and fishing, and thus my life.
Depending on how the Fed level shifts I would agree. But right now MT Rs are the back stop preventing the wholesale of our public lands
 
I don't know if it has to be any deeper than his press release, which is medical stuff. I also couldn't imagine being in my mid 60s, and wanting to spend a large amount of time in Washington DC, or even working for that matter. Though I have plenty of dispute with a lot of what he has done over the years, he's certainly put in his time.

That said, I wouldn't be shocked if two years from now he was on some board somewhere doing pretty well for himself.
I think the kind of people who want to join that circus in the first place don’t typically decide they’re suddenly over it, hence the number of congressmen/women who would’ve aged out of highlighting your Costco receipt decades ago. The most common retirements seem to be people who are about to be primaried or ones in the majority expecting to be in the minority.

Maybe he’s distancing himself a bit from Trump for a couple years in preparation for a governor run (or hell, president?) in 28. If democrats win the majority in 26, there are going to be a lot of purely symbolic votes that accomplish nothing other than forcing republicans to put their name on unpopular policies.
 
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Here’s the latest post from Busse. I don’t know anything about these polls or their validity. Looking at the congressional districts, I don’t think it’s too far fetched that we might see a very tight race. Bozeman, Butte, and Missoula are all in district 1. I’ve always thought all three of those cities were left leaning. IMG_3358.jpegIMG_3359.jpegIMG_3362.jpeg
 
Here’s the latest post from Busse. I don’t know anything about these polls or their validity. Looking at the congressional districts, I don’t think it’s too far fetched that we might see a very tight race. Bozeman, Butte, and Missoula are all in district 1. I’ve always thought all three of those cities were left leaning. View attachment 403231View attachment 403232View attachment 403233

Busse isn’t winning. Another D may have a chance, but he has none. The Dems would be smart to distance themselves from him.
 
What the heck is going on?
I've asked around some folks who have the inside on a lot of things in DC.

Opinions vary, but most are saying that there is going to be a complete washout in November mid-term. If so, which I'm somewhat skeptical of, the claim is that we are in for two years of Congressional hearings.

If only one chamber swings, it's enough to keep anything from getting done and everything being opposed. If that happens, there are many who don't want to be associated with more of the clusterfudge.

Others have said that Bodnar polls surprisingly well in Montana as an opponent of Daines. He's running as an independent with the Dems not having anyone very nameworthy, making his ability to pluck off many Dems, most the Independents, and some Rs who were already lukewarm about Trump & Co. That would make for a draining race, which is not very appealing to Daines.

Regardless of how one feels about Daines and Zinke, it is easy to see why they would step aside at their age and the strength of their balance sheet. They've probably got other things they'd rather be doing with the remaining time they've got.

Personally, I think they know a lot of what is going on that we don't hear/see. They've looked at it, and they want to get off this ship now.

These two stepping aside has Mike Lee rubbing his loins. He likely thinks he will still be in the majority next Congress, and if so, he's intends to get his way this time.
 
Daines doing this at the very last minute it is pretty fishy, and quite the gift to Bodnar.

I think if people had known, there’d be a much thicker pool of Republicans than Kurt Alme.
 
Neither wants to be around for the shit storm that will come from the plans implemented over the last 12 months.

Regarding public lands, I wonder how future president Vance feels about the subject?
 
He's running as an independent with the Dems not having anyone very nameworthy,
The Repubs have perfected sucking the energy out of the press. They dominant the airwaves and print. Montana is a hard place to make a name for yourself so you can have some name recognition on the ballot. It is mostly rinse and repeat with voters just doing straight party voting. Maybe it will be different this time? Hard to say. but people with true integrity and character don’t want anything to do with the job.
 

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