McCarthy pitches his House candidacy in conference call to Hill County Dems

State Rep. Kelly McCarthy, D-Billings, held a phone conference Sunday night with members of the Hill County Central Committee to convince area Democrats he is the party’s best candidate to win the special election for Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Hill County delegates Brenda Skornogoski, state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, former City Councilwoman Janet Trethewey and Jack Trethewey, a member of the Montana State Democratic Party’s Executive Board were on the call. Joe Skornogoski, who has been chosen to serve as an alternate delegate, was also on the call.

McCarthy, a third-term member of the Montana House of Representatives, launched a campaign in December for the seat now held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican.

Zinke has been tapped by President Donald Trump to be the next secretary of the interior.

If confirmed by the Senate, Zinke would resign his seat. In accordance with Montana law, a special election would be held 100 days after Zinke’s resignation. The state Democratic, Republican and Libertarian party’s central committees would hold conventions to choose their party candidates to run in the special election.

Five other Democrats, musician Ron Quist; former U.S. Senate candidate state Rep. Amanda Curtis, D-Butte; John Meyer, an environmentalist from Bozeman; Dan West, a former political liaison to NASA, and Whitefish businessman Lee Neimark are also vying to be the party’s candidate.    

McCarthy, 50, said he believes he is his party’s best chance to capture the seat that has been held by Republicans since 1997.

“I can still stay true to our values, but still perform very well with independent voters because of my background,” he said during the 35 minute call.

McCarthy is a native and resident of south Billings. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1985. For 23 years, he served in the Air Force and the U.S. intelligence community, he said.

“I traveled around quite a bit doing that, which gives you somewhat of a unique perspective and a new lense to view your own country through,” McCarthy said.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Business Administration in global business from the University of Texas in Dallas.

McCarthy worked for First Interstate Bank in Montana, before in 2013 establishing The Artos Group, a consulting group on issues of economic development.  

McCarthy entered  electoral politics in 2012, saying he ran for the seat he now holds at the urging of his friend then-termed-out state representative and current Yellowstone County Commissioner Robyn Driscoll, D-Billings. He has been on the House Appropriations Committee throughout his three terms, where he now serves as minority vice chair. McCarthy is also a member of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government.

Throughout his time in the Legislature, McCarthy said, he has a track record of reaching across the political aisle to advance important legislation.

“You will notice when there are grenades going off that I am generally not around,” McCarthy said. “I’m not a bomb thrower.”

It is that willingness to be civil and work with others that McCarthy said enabled 80 percent of the bills he carried in the 2015 legislative session to make it through both chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature and eventually get signed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

Forming relationships with people of both parties is something McCarthy said he is proud of and hopes to bring to Washington, D.C. He said the lack of compromise and civility in Congress has made them “a national embarrassment.”

Republicans have held the seat for two decades, but McCarthy said his record of consensus building between both parties, status as a military veteran and strong support in Yellowstone County, which he said is crucial for Democrats to carry if they are to win a statewide or federal election, make him the best chance to take it back.

“We know we have to perform very well with independent voters in Montana, and we know that we have to have some crossover from Republicans to win this seat,” McCarthy said.

He added that he would not be making a bid for the seat if he did not think Democrats could win it and that he was the candidate able to do so.

“Unless we can win this then what we are doing is we are turning this seat back over to Republicans, and not only Republicans but a very scary one,” McCarthy said referring to 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte, who is seeking his party’s nomination.

McCarthy said Gianforte has sent out fundraising emails pledging to help further President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Name recognition is something McCarthy said he knows he has to work on, adding that his campaign has done some polling and that he is well known in Yellowstone County and Helena, but he needs to raise his profile in other areas of the state.

McCarthy said that if he wins the nomination, his campaign will place a big emphasis on person-to-person politics.

“We love seeing our senator and saying, ‘Hey Jon, let’s grab a beer,’” McCarthy said, adding that, “People from Montana expect that, and people from outside Montana find that amazing that we have that level of access to our representatives in D.C.”