{"id":1002,"date":"2020-09-22T13:33:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T18:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2020-09-22T13:47:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T18:47:31","slug":"montana-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/22\/montana-free-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Free Press: Senate race is one of most closely watched in nation"},"content":{"rendered":" <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1501\" data-attachment-id=\"1017\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/22\/montana-free-press\/stevebullock\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stevebullock.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1501\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1571830000&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"stevebullock\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo by  &lt;A href=&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk&quot;&gt;&lt;br \/&gt;\n                            Kevin Abourezk&lt;br \/&gt;\n                            &lt;I aria-hidden=true class=&quot;fab  fa-twitter&quot;&gt;&lt;\/i&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stevebullock-1024x769.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stevebullock.jpg\" alt=\"stevebullock\"   class=\"img-fluid wp-image-1017\" \/><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Steve Bullock is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana. Photo by <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\">Kevin Abourezk <I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab  fa-twitter\"><\/i><\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h1-responsive\">Reading the weather in Bullock vs. Daines<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">The outcome will help decide control of the Senate, and both candidates are touting their environmental credentials.<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Judy Fahys<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=\"source\">Montana Free Press<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=\"source-website\"><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/\">montanafreepress.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nGov. Steve Bullock quit the Democrats\u2019 presidential contest in December, then announced his campaign a few months later to oust Republican incumbent Sen. Steve Daines. Bullock now finds himself in one of the nation\u2019s most closely watched election fights of 2020 \u2014 a toss-up race that could help flip the U.S. Senate from Republican to Democratic control and make way for national climate action.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nDemocrats need to win four seats held by Republicans to reclaim the Senate majority, or three GOP seats and a Democratic White House for a tie-breaking vice president\u2019s vote. That\u2019s why a New York Times \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/05\/opinion\/steve-bullock-montana-senate.html\">opinion piece<\/a>\r\ndescribed Bullock, who\u2019s \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/06\/25\/882311863\/on-the-covid-19-campaign-trail-montanas-gov-steve-bullock-may-be-getting-a-boost\">won praise<\/a>\r\nfor his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as \u201cthe most important person on the planet.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nDuring his presidential run, Bullock told the \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/politics\/policy-2020\/climate-change\/green-new-deal\/\">Washington Post<\/a>\r\nthat he favored a \u201cmore focused\u201d clean-energy program than the Green New Deal, and said U.S. climate policy \u201cmust be ambitious, durable\u2026[and have] a bipartisan foundation.\u201d Although he opposed Obama-era fracking rules, Bullock told the Post he supported significant increases in renewables, energy efficiency and investment in carbon capture, along with reversing the Trump administration\u2019s fuel-efficiency-standard rollbacks and withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nBullock began building his climate bona fides in his second term as governor, beginning with a statewide climate assessment in 2017. Last year, he requested the Montana Climate Solutions Plan, which was \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2020\/09\/10\/new-climate-plan-calls-for-carbon-neutrality-by-2050\/\">released<\/a>\r\nSeptember 9, and enlisted his state in the U.S. Climate Alliance. Actions like these might be years behind efforts by more climate-concerned Western states, but Bullock\u2019s leadership on the issue moves the conversation forward in a state where mining and fossil-fuel interests have historically dominated politics.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cWe can see [the climate changing] right here in Montana in longer, more intense fire seasons, and the loss of ice in Glacier National Park each year,\u201d Bullock\u2019s \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/stevebullock.com\/on-the-issues\/climate-and-environment\/\">campaign web page<\/a>\r\nsays. \u201cBy making smart policy decisions, we can mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture, the environment, and public lands, while protecting jobs and investing in new industries.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s no question the GOP has been worried about a Democrat unseating the incumbent, Daines.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nOne sign: The GOP \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2020\/07\/02\/how-montanas-green-party-found-itself-at-the-center-of-a-political-circus-again\/\">secretly paid<\/a>\r\n$100,000 for a signature drive to get a ticket-splitting Green Party candidate on the 2020 ballot \u2014 without involving the state or national organizers for the Greens. Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton certified the Green Party candidate\u2019s name to appear on the ballot, but the move was nixed by state courts and ultimately turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An absolute honor to be endorsed by the Crow Tribe and to stand with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VP<\/a> as he and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> receive the Crow\u2019s endorsement as well. \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mCZtA6p2nL\">pic.twitter.com\/mCZtA6p2nL<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveDaines\/status\/1305621722385743873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">DAINES BURNISHES HIS ENVIRONMENTAL CREDENTIALS<\/div>\r\n\r\nMontana\u2019s Republican senator has made protecting Montana outdoor values an enduring theme in his pitch to voters. With Montana declared a \u201ctoss-up\u201d state over the summer, the environment \u2014 and even climate policy \u2014 began to play a bigger role in Daines\u2019 campaign to retain his Senate seat.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nHe stepped up efforts to green his image last fall, beginning with his partnership with another vulnerable western Republican, Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, to end GOP resistance to reauthorizing the wildly popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Congressional Republicans had let the law lapse, but Daines and Gardner succeeded in persuading leaders to put it back on the Washington agenda.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nIn March, the duo \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardner.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/gardner-manchin-bipartisan-colleagues-introduce-the-great-american-outdoors-act\">announced<\/a>\r\nthat they\u2019d convinced President Donald Trump to sign a bill securing permanent funding for the LWCF, which has helped finance park and conservation projects nationwide. After it was \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/watch-live-trump-signs-great-american-outdoors-act\">signed<\/a>\r\ninto law, Daines edged ahead in the \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/epolls\/2020\/senate\/mt\/montana_senate_daines_vs_bullock-7063.html\">polls<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nTrump also helped Daines dodge a bullet by \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/story\/blogs\/opencountry\/pendley-withdrawn-bureau-land-managment-nominee\/\">withdrawing<\/a>\r\nWilliam Perry Pendley\u2019s name for leadership of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. A conservative lawyer and self-described sagebrush rebel, Pendley was targeted by conservation and green groups for advocating the sale of federal land and other controversial stands.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nAs a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Daines would have been forced to \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/07\/17\/trump-western-senate-republicans-election-367390\">vote<\/a>\r\non advancing Pendley\u2019s name to the Senate floor had the administration not withdrawn the nomination. In contrast, \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2020\/07\/21\/bullock-tester-push-back-on-pendley-appointment\/\">Bullock took the nomination to federal court<\/a>, suing to block the nominee from becoming the BLM\u2019s leader or from continuing as \u201cacting\u201d director, as Pendley has been for the past year.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\r\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n  <\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nThroughout his first term, Daines\u2019 statements about climate change closely paralleled the GOP party line. He called the Paris climate agreement \u201ca bad deal\u201d and credited fracking for reducing the state\u2019s carbon dioxide emissions by increasing the use of natural gas. He cast many environmental controls and climate proposals as \u201cradical\u201d policies that would undermine freedoms that Montanans cherish.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen you look at some of these crazy ideas like the Green New Deal, the way I look at this is we need to ensure that we find policies that can be bipartisan and that also support Montana\u2019s diverse energy portfolio,\u201d he told the \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bozemandailychronicle.com\/news\/environment\/congressional-delegation-differs-in-climate-change-views\/article_aa926ab5-61bc-572c-ba7d-0228021bcac1.html\">\r\n<em>Bozeman Daily Chronicle<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThe balance is what Montanans want to see. They want to see us protecting the environment \u2026 as well as ensuring we can have affordable, reliable energy.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nThe contrast between the Montana Senate candidates on climate exploded into full view late in August after reports that the conservative\r\n<em> Daily Caller<\/em>\r\nhad \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/LEAKED-BULLOCK-CLIMATE-PLAN.pdf\">leaked<\/a>\r\nthe draft plan developed by Bullock\u2019s Climate Solutions Council. A comprehensive analysis, the draft included advice to consider what Montana has to gain and lose from federal and regional carbon pricing proposals, a point that prompted dissent by four of the council\u2019s 41 members.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nDaines immediately shot off a \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.daines.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/BULLOCK%20-%20Carbon%20Pricing%20Proposal%20-%20FINAL%202020.08.261.pdf\">letter<\/a>\r\nto Bullock and shared it on Twitter. \u201cYou still support a job-killing carbon tax,\u201d he said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nBullock responded with a letter of his own, shared in a \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovernorBullock\/status\/1299062611745542144\">tweet<\/a>: \u201cAs governor, I have consistently brought together diverse groups of Montanans to find bipartisan solutions. This is an attack on these collaborative efforts and knowingly dishonest to the people of Montana\u201d.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nSoon after, Bullock disowned the carbon-tax proposal. \u201cI do not support any of the proposals for national carbon tax in Congress,\u201d \r\n<em>the Missoulian <\/em>\r\nquoted him as saying. \u201cI do, however, support this council\u2019s recommendation to have a seat at the table.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"529\" height=\"401\" data-attachment-id=\"1014\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/22\/montana-free-press\/2020senatemoneyracemt\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020SenateMoneyRaceMT.png\" data-orig-size=\"529,401\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"2020SenateMoneyRaceMT\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020SenateMoneyRaceMT.png\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020SenateMoneyRaceMT.png\" alt=\"2020SenateMoneyRaceMT\"   class=\"alignnone img-fluid wp-image-1014\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">The Money Race: Montana Senate. Image by Montana Free Press\r\n<\/figcaption><p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">THE TAKEAWAY<\/div>\r\n\r\nClimate change might not be the issue driving all Montanans to the polls, but the fight over Daines\u2019 Senate seat will have implications nationally \u2014 not only on climate policy, but on every other issue caught in the partisan fray.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nThat helps explain why political action committees are playing such a big role in the Montana Senate campaigns this year. Republican and Libertarian groups have spent more than $16 million to defeat Bullock, while Democratic PACs and others opposed to Daines have spent more than $14 million through June 30, according to the \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/races\/outside-spending?cycle=2020&amp;id=MTS2&amp;spec=N\">Center for Responsive Politics<\/a>. In fact, that combined opposition spending of more than $34 million is greater than the sums the Montana Senate campaigns have reported spending.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nIf Democrats succeed in winning the seats they need to gain a majority, or a tie-breaking vote by a Democratic president, they might be able to start advancing climate action, including policies to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change, and begin shifting the economy away from fossil-fuel dependence.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nBut the answer won\u2019t be known until voters have their say on November 3, after a dozen close Senate races like Montana\u2019s are finally decided.<p><\/p>\r\n<Strong>This story is part of an InsideClimate News series focusing on climate change in <a href=https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/tags\/key-senate-races>11 key Senate races on the ballot<\/a> in November.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>Judy Fahys writes for InsideClimate News and occasionally produces audio stories. She used to cover the West from Washington, D.C., but made a course correction and settled in Salt Lake City so she can actually enjoy the wild places (and people) in her stories. You can reach her at judy.fahys@insideclimatenews.org.<\/em><HR>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2020\/09\/16\/reading-the-weather-in-bullock-vs-daines\/\">appeared on Montana Free Press<\/a>. It is published under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/3.0\/us\/\">Creative Commons license<\/a>.<\/strong>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThumbnail photo of Steve Daines by <a href=https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nasahqphoto\/19670315386\/>Joel Kowsky \/ NASA<\/a>. Thumbnail photo of Steve Bullock by Kevin Abourezk \/ Indianz.Com","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The outcome of a key race in Montana will help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Both candidates are touting their environmental credentials.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1,14],"tags":[4,156,283,94,56,284,155,249,194,85,91,282,195,285],"class_list":["post-1002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-national","category-politics","tag-4","tag-blm","tag-climate-change","tag-democrats","tag-elections","tag-energy","tag-fracking","tag-montana","tag-montana-free-press","tag-republicans","tag-senate","tag-steve-bullock","tag-steve-daines","tag-william-perry-pendley","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stevebullockstevedaines.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-ga","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}