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A vacant building stands Monday in the 700 Block of 1st Street in Havre near the grain elevators by the BNSF Railway Co. railyards. Local Republicans say they plan to lease the building to use as a headquarters for their party's operations.
Local Republicans say they have two-thirds of the money needed to lease a building on 1st Street to serve as the campaign headquarters for state and local candidates, to store signs and to coordinate voter outreach operations in Hill and nearby counties.
Andrew Brekke, chair of the Hill County Republicans said Monday that the party has raised about two-thirds of the $20,000 needed to move into and operate the headquarters housed in an empty retail space across from Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods on 1st Street, and hire a full time staffer. Brekke said the office would be open and manned by someone with experience working with campaigns, from just after the June primary until after the November election.
"They will have a home base," state Sen. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, said while speaking to donors at the Hill and Blaine County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Feb. 21. "Thier volunteers can be here, they can come here and use our space as a base of operations."
The 3,000 square foot property, Brekke said is owned by G & C Commodities LLP, which owns the grain elevator behind the building. The space consists of five or six rooms that include a large meeting room and a foyer. The building also has ample parking in a highly visible location.
Much of the work the office does would aim at promoting the party's candidates in the three state Senate and six House Districts from Poplar west to Liberty County and down to portions of Cascade County.
Brekke said the office would mainly be used to mobilize and distribute campaign information for the party's legislative candidates in the races in this area.
Most years, the party rents space during an election cycle. In 2010 and 2012, Brekke said they rented the building that now houses the Triangle Mobile store, also on 1st Street, while in 2014 they rented a building near the Triple Dog Brewing Inc. location.
In recent election cycles, the Republicans have gained significant ground across the Hi-Line. In 2008 the party won a race for state representative in Havre. Since then, Brekke said, Republicans have prevailed in 15 of the 16 state legislative contests in the Havre area in which they have run a candidate.
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