30 May 2017 — 1004 mdt

Montana Democrats need spirited, competitive, primaries next year

A successful statewide campaign is an order of magnitude more complicated than a legislative district campaign. As a general rule, running for statewide office is the best way of learning how to run for a statewide office.

There’s a good argument that Ryan Zinke prevailed in the 2014 general election because of the experience in campaigning statewide that he obtained as soldier of fortune Neil Livingstone’s running mate in the 2012 Republican gubernatorial primary, and as a candidate in the vigorous 2014 Republican primary.

A similar good argument applies to Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, another also-ran from the 2012 Republican primary for governor, and runner-up to Zinke in the 2014 Republican primary for the U.S. House.

Last November, Elsie Arntzen and Matt Rosendale parlayed their experience in the 2014 Republican primary for the U.S. House into winning campaigns for the Office of Public Instruction and Montana Auditor.

Montana’s Republicans are employing statewide primaries as minor leagues for developing successful statewide general election candidates.

Montana’s Democrats should employ the same strategy, and not just for statewide offices. First time legislative and local government candidates derive considerable benefits from running in competitive primaries.

Unfortunately, the MDP could be heading in the other direction, especially for the 2018 election for the U.S. House. Democrats consider Greg Gianforte a weak candidate, and a villain who must be punished for his, and his party’s, dirty campaign against Rob Quist. They’re going to make a run at him, possibly with the help of the Democratic Campaign Coordinating Committee — and the party’s big kahunas may well try to recruit a candidate this summer, and, as they did after anointing John Walsh as the party’s standard bearer for 2014, actively work to have an uncontested primary.

That would be a mistake.

Contested primaries sharpen campaigning skills, and keep the candidates, and their, and their party’s, message on the front page and evening news. A contested Democratic U.S. House primary would produce both a better general election candidate, and group of Democrats with experience as statewide candidates. The latter could form the cadre of candidates who could win the statewide partisan offices that will be on the ballot in 2020. And contested legislative district primaries would season candidates for the general election.