Montana GOP: Montanans Footing the Bill for Steve Bullock’s Presidential Run

“As a Democratic governor of a state Trump won by 20 points, I don’t have the luxury of just talking to people who agree with me,” Bullock said in the video. “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice.”

During his presidential race, Bullock will attempt to cast himself as a candidate who can attract rural voters who have typically voted Republican recently, as Democrats have increasingly become the party of urban and more diverse demographics.

Debra Lamma, the chairman of the Montana GOP, released a statement Tuesday, slamming the Montana governor for ignoring Montanans to raise money from lobbyists, special interests, and liberal activists. Lamm said:

Governor Bullock joins a long list of 20-plus Democrats hoping to take on and defeat President Trump, and he’s doing it at the Montana taxpayers’ expense. Montanans are footing his campaign bill so he can jet-set off and raise millions of dollars from lobbyists, special interests, and liberal activists. Just because Gov. Bullock’s ego thinks he can become President of the United States doesn’t mean that hard-working Montanans should be left picking up a nearly $300,000 tab to pay for his pipe dream.

Montana lawmakers sponsored state bill H.B. 693 during the 2019 legislative session to address campaign travel reimbursment for Montana’s statewide elected officials; in one analysis; the Montana Highway Patrol estimated Gov. Bullock’s out-of-state campaign travel for 2019 to exceed $273,000.

While Bullock has positioned himself as one of the more moderate candidates during the presidential race, he has earned more leftist accolades during his time in the Montana governor’s mansion.

In February, Bullock tweeted out that the flood of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border does not amount to a “national emergency.”

The Montana Democrat said that to “declare it as such is a dangerous precedent.”

Bullock also vetoed the Montana Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, which was designed to protect babies born alive in failed abortions.

The Democrat also, in August 2018, said that he “would” support an assault weapons ban, which would infringe on Americans’ right to bear firearms. Bullock also ran an op-ed in USA Today in May 2018 calling for a bump stock ban, limits on the size of firearm magazines, and universal background checks.

Bullock’s announcement Tuesday also raises the question whether the Montana Democrat would also run for Senate against Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), a staunch ally of President Trump’s in the U.S. Senate, if Bullock fails to garner significant support during the Democrat primaries.

National Democrats reportedly want Bullock to run against Daines even though Bullock said this year he had “ruled it out.”

Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Michael Ahrens released a statement Tuesday attacking Bullock for joining an ever larger number of Democrats who cannot win the primaries.

“Another day, another delusional Democrat running for president with no shot at winning,” the spokesman, Ahrens, said.