HELENA
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is extending her upcoming trip to Montana with a fundraiser in Missoula on April 6, the day after she and Barack Obama are scheduled to speak at the state Democratic Party's annual dinner in Butte. Tickets to the Missoula fundraiser, a brunch at the Hilton Garden Inn, are $250, $500 and $1,000, according to Clinton's campaign Web site. The event will be hosted by Senate Majority Leader Carol Williams, Sen. Carol Juneau of Browning, Rep. Diane Sands of Missoula and former gubernatorial candidate Dorothy Bradley. "For me, Hillary is the only real change that is going to happen," said Williams, the first woman elected Senate majority leader in Montana. "We care about the same policy issues, such as children and health care. A woman president, or even candidate, who has gone to this length, is important for our history. It was a very easy decision for me to make." The Big Sky Committee, a group formed to organize the fundraiser, includes former state auditor and one-time gubernatorial candidate Mark O'Keefe and his wife Lucy D a y t o n , G o v. B r i a n Schweitzer's spokeswoman Sarah Elliott and the governor ' s b r o t h e r, Wa l t e r Schweitzer. Elliott said her and Walt Schweitzer's support of Clinton is not an indication of who the governor supports. Gov. Schweitzer is one of eight Montana superdelgates to the Democratic National Convention. With Clinton and Obama in a tight race, the nomination could come down to the votes of the superdelgates. "This is personal support and my own choice," Elliott said. "I was an early supporter of hers." Clinton also hopes to hold a free public event in Missoula, said Isaac Baker, a spokesman for the campaign. Supporters of Obama have also urged him to campaign in Missoula while he's in the state, but the campaign has not announced another stop. Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Ed Tinsley is backing Obama and is the only committed Montana superdelegate. Tinsley on Tuesday deferred questions about Obama's Montana schedule to the candidate's campaign, which could not be immediately reached for comment. But Tinsley, who lives acro s s t h e s t re e t f rom Schweitzer in Helena, said he i s t r y i n g t o p e rs u a d e Schweitzer to back Obama. "I'm working on him, I'm working him," Tinsley said. "If I see him working in the yard or something, I'll yell out to him." (AP)
