23 April 2013

Emily’s List president may run to succeed Baucus

Emily’s List president Stephanie Schriock is from Butte. She isn’t shy — and it sure looks like she’s running to replace Max Baucus in the U.S. Senate.

No sooner had Baucus announced he would retire at the end of his current term than MontanaStreetFighter published a puff piece on Schriock, who worked on Sen. Jon Tester’s 2006 campaign.

The feministas in Montana’s Democratic Party may welcome Schriock’s candidacy, at least those feministas not supporting Denise Juneau, Dorothy Bradley, or another women. That’s no surprise. But, it is risky.

Two points:

1. With the exception of Jeannette Rankin, Montanans have not sent women to Congress. That’s not to say it can’t or won’t be done, but history suggests to me that among Montana’s voters there’s still a considerable cultural reluctance to send women to Washington.


2. Stephanie Schriock was born in Butte, but she took her college degree in Minnesota and has lived a long way from Montana for a lot of her adult life. Where one is born is not a choice, but where one lives as an adult is. Her defenders would bristle at charges she’s a carpetbagger, but such charges would not be unwarranted and would resonate with many voters.

A lot Democrats, living in Montana and living elsewhere, now see themselves as potential U.S. Senators. Still others see running for the senate as a good way to increase their name recognition. So I understand Schriock’s being the first to loose a trial balloon. But I still think the first best bet for Democrats is Brian Schweitzer, and the second best bet are younger Democrats such as State Sen. Anders Blewett of Great Falls.