The thing about Montana is, they have a lot of libertarians. They get on the ballot a lot, because FREEDUMB! Because they get on the ballot, they sometimes win, and in the general election, they frequently ensure the winning candidate doesn't get an actual majority.
State Sen. Greg Hertz says he's really bothered that the state can elect a U.S. senator that doesn't have a majority. It's not partisan! He just wants a senator -- ONE SENATOR IN PARTICULAR -- to have a majority. And just this once. That's why his bill proposes a top-two primary. Via the Montana Free Press:
The bill as written discusses only U.S. Senate elections and sunsets in 2025. That means the law would only apply to the 2024 race for Tester’s Senate seat. It would not apply to the race for Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ seat in 2026. Daines is the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP organ that helps elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate. A spokesperson for the NRSC did not return a request for comment.
Why, it's almost as if it's meant to elect Republicans:
One of seven Republicans to vote against the bill, who requested anonymity “for fear of retribution by party bosses,” criticized the proposal as being “narrowly crafted by design” and said it would take citizens’ voices away.
“That, coupled with national party leaders talking about putting an emphasis on recruiting high net-worth individuals [to run for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024], seems to be designed to eliminate good home-grown candidates, which flies in the face of how we traditionally do business in Montana,” the senator said.
It was a lobbyist who requested the change to the bill:
Legislative drafting documents for the bill confirm that it started with a broader purview. But on March 26, lobbyist and former Montana GOP Executive Director Chuck Denowh — who has worked for previous campaigns of both Daines and Rosendale — wrote Hertz and legislative drafters to request that the bill be modified to apply only to the U.S. Senate race and sunset in 2025. Hertz approved of the changes.
Denowh has several lobbying clients, including one called Majority Vote Montana — a Montana nonprofit registered to Denowh that has no real online presence.
I'm sure it'll all be fine. Montana has a very special breed of Republicans who would never dream of partisan maneuvers with plausible deniabilty. Amirite?
Hat tip to Ten Bears for the heads up on this story.
