Posted: May 21, 2012 at 8:56 pm

Statewide Candidates Reveal Finances

The statewide candidates turned in their fundraising numbers today. Here are a few items of interest:

The Governor’s race:

Steve Bullock raised twice as much as Rick Hill during the latest reporting period ($100,000 for Bullock to $54,000 for Hill). Bullock also has a war chest of more than double the unspent funds still in the bank. Hill used to bring in amounts much closer to what Bullock has been raising, but Hill’s financial support continues to weaken as the word about his past continues to circulate.

Neil Livingstone also brought in $90,000–although the entire amount came from a donation Livingstone made to himself. In an email to supporters, Livingstone said he has used the money to put up “the largest statewide media buy, both radio, and TV” of any of the candidates.

Livingstone says openly what many are privately thinking.

“Rick cannot beat Attorney General Steve Bullock in the general election.”

He then proceeds to go negative on all of this opponents. I’ve pasted the entire email from “Neil and Ryan” asking that voters “join the revolution” below the fold.

Attorney General primary:

The AG race continues to be tight. While Jesse Laslovich reported raising $7,000 more than Pam Bucy for this period, the money appears to be “bundled” oil industry donations from out of state. ”Bundling” occurs when an industry collects donations from its management, employees, and their relatives and sends them in a lump “bundle” so the candidate knows exactly who’s paying the bills.

Laslovich’s report today includes $7870 (a third of the money he raised this quarter) from out of state donors–all affiliated with the oil industry–primarily from Texas, Connecticut and Maine.

The Texas contributors look like employees (and their relatives) of a company that makes chemicals used in oil drilling. The corporation is called DX Chemicals. Guy Mossman and William Hixon, VPs of DX Chemicals, gave. The Connecticut contributors are affiliated with a venture capital corporation called American Bailey–a private investment firm specializing in fuel and energy development. (J. William Drake, VP of American Bailey, and Douglas Bailey, President, are contributors). Other Texas money comes from Charles Kerr and Corbin Robertson, VPs of Quintana Minerals Corporation, a private oil and gas exploration development company.

Also of note, all of this money came in on May 16, the last day to collect money for today’s report. The contributions were all for $320 (weird number to contribute since the limit is $310). There is also an expenditure for a wire transfer to a bank, so I’m guessing this all came in last minute.

Certainly the oil industry would like greater influence over the land board. The corporate executives may also be concerned because Citizens United is going to be a key issue for the next AG. Bucy raised $20,000 over the most recent reporting cycle.

Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Republican Sandy Welch is lagging further and further behind current Superintendent Denise Juneau, a Democrat. Welch raised about half what Juneau did for the most recent reporting period–$6,300. However, she has only $19k in the bank to Denise Juneau’s $89k. This, combined with Juneau’s recent staggering earned media streak, probably means the GOP has already given up on taking Juneau’s seat.

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Posted: April 4, 2012 at 6:12 pm

Political Quick Hits

Selling Access

Montana GOP candidate Steve Daines is featured in a national expose about would-be members of Congress selling their time (and access to their person) to lobbyists in exchange for campaign contributions. NPR’s Planet Money and This American Life both highlight Daines’ role in the practice. The stories also report on how Daines lobbyist events can be tracked on the Sunlight Foundation’s page on Daines (here).

Another GOP Candidate Dumps on Montana

Another Republican running for Governor has taken to the air waves trashing Montana in hopes it will further his own political career. Last time it was Rick Hill. This time, it’s Corey Stapelton who is dumping on the state and making false statements about our economy. Stapleton has a new TV ad out that says Montana now has “record unemployment.” The facts show otherwise. Montana experienced record unemployment in 1983, when the unemployment rate was 8.8%, according to the US Department of Labor. Today Montana’s actual unemployment in Montana stands at 6.2%. The state has the 13th lowest unemployment rate in the country.

Another Way Republicans Pass the Time

When I wrote yesterday that favorite Republican pastimes included lying and vote suppression, I didn’t mean to leave out their other beloved hobbies: drinking and driving, and poaching.

The list of Republicans busted for poaching in recent times is long. It includes Republican legislator Scott Boggio and Legislative Fiscal “analyst” Terry Johnson. Rehberg staffers Mike Waite, Randy Vogel and Burns staffer Shawn Vassel also faced poaching charges.

It has recently come to light that Rep. Christy Clark‘s husband belongs on this list. The Choteau Republican’s husband, Lew Clark, was caught poaching a grizzly bear in 2004, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement. A PDF of the press release explaining the incident can be seen here and here. There are some weird details to this case. The bear had a radio collar that Clark’s husband destroyed. He also cut off the head, crushed the skull, and hid it in a remote location, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Voters are going to want to know what details Rep. Clark knew of the incident, and when she knew them.