President's promise to return to Montana sparks memories

From the dome to your home. Ramblings, mutterings, keen observations and things you ought to know out of Helena from the mind of Phil Drake.

HE’S COMING: President Donald Trump tweeted Friday he would be coming to Montana to campaign for Sen. Steve Daines, who is running for reelection.

Well, actually the president said he would be coming to the Treasure State on behalf of “Steve,” which can be confusing as Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock is running against Daines.

But my money says he will campaign for Daines. No date for the visit has been announced.

As you know the president came to Montana four times in 2018 to campaign for candidates. He had mixed success as some won but some lost.

Those rallies were rough to cover, lots of folks yelling at me, loud music and the tricky logistics of getting into the venues. And that was just in the parking lot.

But they were also unforgettable.

I don’t know if a Trump endorsement will be as helpful this election cycle given the current state of the world, but based on the complaints about my “biased” coverage and phone calls I get, he still seems to be popular with some Montanans. I imagine he will win the state in November, but I doubt it will be by 20 points like in 2016.

ELECTION RECOLLECTIONS: Elections are humbling, not only for candidates but for me as well.

Every election brings a surprise as to who wins and who loses. I’ve worked at some papers that endorse candidates and others that don’t.

While I enjoy reading endorsements, they can make for a rocky road when the candidate you don’t endorse gets elected. I worked in one town where the elected official never let us forget we did not endorse him.

Some of the more conservative Republicans are happy their candidates defeated more middle of the road Republicans, part of the “solutions caucus” in races throughout the state. It seems like that did not occur in the Great Falls area.

I spent part of my election night in Helena on the road, stopping at the secretary of state’s office, going across the street to a gathering for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney and then to Clancy to the home of GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Fox.

I really had no idea which Republican was going to win the secretary of state primary on Tuesday. But Christi Jacobsen, the current deputy secretary of state, was in the office working.

I asked her how she felt and she answered something like she felt cautiously optimistic. Several hours later she was declared the winner. She will face Democratic state Sen. Bryce Bennett in November.

Cooney talked about the campaign and what Montanans expect from candidates.

I told him he has always made calls for a civil tone in elections, but I wondered if he could keep that goal in this election.

“I think Montanans are very decent people and I think they expect a certain level of civility and we have to give it to them,” he said.

But he added there would have to be some discussions on the differences between candidates. “And there are great differences between … Greg Gianforte and myself and we need to talk about those differences." 

At the end of our conversation I told him I was headed to Fox’s house.

“Tell Tim I said ‘hello,’” he told me. I told him I would, but I don’t think I did.

I had some trouble finding Fox’s home. My map app usually talks to me “Turn right here, fatty” or “Hey stupid, you missed a turn.” But for some reason it stayed silent this night.

Fox and I sat on his front porch with his running mate, Jon Knokey. The returns weren’t in, but folks on the street were saying Gianforte was going to win.

I asked Fox how he expected to feel the next morning. He told me regardless of the outcome, he was truly blessed.

I went home and start filing election stories, which Editor Grady Higgins, our design desk and I worked on until about midnight.

Jacobsen and Cooney won their raises. Fox did not.

I had told folks I was looking forward to a Fox/Cooney matchup, saying it would be a more interesting race for me as I have already seen the Gianforte playbook.

I chatted with Gianforte and running mate Kristen Juras the next morning. They were both gracious as we talked about the campaign.

Looking back at the campaign I realize I was surprised in several races, which is probably not good for someone in my profession. But I want to be honest.

I was surprised in the secretary of state and auditor races, for sure.

I was sorry to see Nancy Ballance not advance out of the primary for a state senate seat. But my feelings are purely selfish.

Ballance, now finishing as a state representative, met weekly with reporters (and a few other lawmakers would sit in) and discuss the state budget, challenges, etc., during the legislative session. She was unflappable. It was a brilliant move by the GOP as it helped me understand the challenges of what was going on.

I hope they continue that meeting in future sessions.

HURDLE CLEARED: I was talking with GOP House Speaker Greg Hertz late Friday afternoon when the conversation steered a little off course and we discussed the election. 

I congratulated him on his win for a state Senate seat.

He had won the Tuesday primary and will take the seat in November, as he is unopposed, not only by Republicans, but no Democrat entered the Senate District 6 race as well. He said his case was not unusual, that there were several races where candidates were unopposed or won the seat in the primary.

I called up the secretary of state’s website, sos.mt.gov, and read through the list. There were several races Tuesday in which the person ran unopposed or won by winning the intraparty race.

By my count, which was done by me reviewing the page a half-dozen times, 30 of the 100 House races were determined Tuesday and nine state Senate races. 

Of those 30 House races, 24 were won by Republicans and six were won with Democrats. Of those races, candidates were unopposed in 20, by my count.

Of the 25 state Senate races, eight were won by Republicans and one by a Democrat. Of those, five had only one candidate, again, by my count.

In the 2019 legislative session, there 58 Republicans and 42 Democrats in the House and 30 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the Senate.

ROUND THREE: I will be off next seven days for my third week of furlough due to financial impacts incurred by my company due to the coronavirus.

I normally wouldn’t make a production of it, but I thought going public might let people know how the virus is hitting people locally. It’s been more rough mentally than financially for me.

I have tried to keep a good attitude about it all.

I have no plans, but since I recently brought a dog into my house it may give us a chance to decompress. I have washed the dog, and for some reason he smells worse. I can not offer an explanation.

The dog is not offering comment as to how I smell.

If you need reach someone in the newsroom while I am gone, please email ghiggins@greatfallstribune.com. If it’s COVID-19 related, email nmabie@greatfallstribune.com.

Take care and see you soon.

Dome Lights appears Sunday, unless the villagers catch me. Email me at pdrake@greatfallstribune.com or call 406-231-9021. I’m based in Helena. Mail me at P.O.Box 1601, Helena, MT 59624.