Bullock tops list of last-day filers

HELENA (AP) — Crowded primary battles solidified Monday with the last day of filing for access to the 2012 ballot, a busy day topped by the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor formally filing for office.

Seven Republicans are seeking the governor's office being vacated by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. But for the Democrats, Attorney General Steve Bullock has all the limelight.

"Montana is at a crossroads, and the decisions we make and the people we elect will shape the future," said Bullock, who recently announced Montana National Guard Brig. Gen. John Walsh as a running mate.

Republicans are trying to hang President Barack Obama's policies as a yoke on Montana Democrats up and down the ballot. Many credit the GOP's big 2010 wins in local legislative races to voter dissatisfaction with the president.

Bullock, who said he doesn't think his election will hinge on national issues as much as it will on priorities closer to home, offered a mixed assessment of his party's president.

Bullock said he disagrees with the president's handling in several areas, such as the Keystone XL oil pipeline where critics say Obama has significantly slowed development. He also pointed out that he disagreed with a scuttled effort by the administration to revive Clinton-era gun restrictions, and that he argued against the administration in the state's U.S. Supreme Court case seeking rent from land occupied by hydroelectric dams.

But Bullock gave the president credit for reform of controls over financial institutions and standing up for giving women improved access to contraception, a big issue recently for the president and his Republican critics.

Montana Democrats think that Republicans will have problems of their own answering for the GOP-led state Legislature of 2011 that sparred with outgoing Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who famously called their work "bat-crap crazy."

"The irresponsibility of the last session has pushed a lot of people to run for office and will inspire a lot of people to vote for Democrats," said Montana Democratic Party strategist Lauren Caldwell.

The Democrats pointed out that more than two dozen Republicans are mired in primary challenges from within their own party.

Democrats say they believe the turmoil will help them reclaim legislative seats lost in 2010 when Republicans rushed to historic margins in the state House. They said solid candidates have been recruited for swing seats the GOP has won in recent years, such as in Havre, Butte, Helena and around Indian reservations.

The Montana GOP said Democrats have erroneously made the same prediction in the past, and argued Republicans embrace intra-party competition as a way of getting the best candidates.

"They will be sorely disappointed in their hopes," said Montana Executive Director Bowen Greenwood. "The people of many communities around Montana rejected the Democrats' big spending, big government agenda in 2010, and they haven't changed their agenda."

Other last-minute filers for office included a couple of candidates considered long shots for the GOP nomination for governor: former Schweitzer cabinet appointee Jim Lynch and anti-wolf activist Bob Fanning of Pray.

Lynch isn't conceding, arguing he thinks his record as head of the Montana Department of Transportation will trump the legislative backgrounds of the perceived GOP front runners.

Bullock was likely one of the few embracing a primary challenge that came in late.

Bullock expressed no concern over a last-minute primary filing from Heather Margolis of Helena, who says she wants to use the platform to advance the cause of public service. Without a primary opponent Bullock would have been forced to return thousands in campaign contributions earmarked just for primary season.