Three Montana legislative races are garnering national attention.  National Democrats announced today that legislative contests in Great Falls, Bozeman, and Lake County are among the sixty races that are key battlegrounds for state legislatures across the United States.

The spotlight is on these key races:

Franke Wilmer v. Tom Burnett in Bozeman

Rep. Franke Wilmer served as House Speaker pro tempore and finishing second in this year’s Democratic primary for Congress.

Wilmer’s opponent is Rep. Tom Burnett, a TEA Party crackpot running on a platform of cutting food for hungry kids in need.  His ridiculous “report,”Hunger in America: The Myth, “calls for an end to food assistance programs and offers such advice to needy parents as ‘No whining,’ ‘Gather wild berries,’ and in a moment of unintended irony, ‘Expect occasional hunger.’”

Nancy Lindsey v. Janna Taylor in Lake County

Democrat Nancy Lindsey, who co-founded a successful software company, will likely make job creation a top issue in this campaign. Taylor, is a TEA Party Republican who claims to oppose government spending.

She’s also the number one recipient of government farm subsidy cash in the Montana Legislature.

Tom Jacobson v. Cleve Loney in Great Falls

Democrat Tom Jacobson was the Executive Director of Rural Dynamics for ten years.   The organization promotes the “economic security of Montana’s working class.”

Jacobson is running against TEA Party loon Cleve Loney. Cleve is quite fond of costumes, as you can see from these pictures.  Loney’s platform seems to involve something about the Constitution, though it’s not clear what.

“That’s what we have to do – we have to keep it in check to where they keep the Constitution where it belongs. They are trying to shred it and we’re going to stop that because this country is founded on the Constitution and our founding fathers have a reason for putting it the way they did – limited government.”