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Attack ads have been flying in Montana’s highly watched U.S. Senate race, where an incumbent Democrat is running for re-election in a state that gave the 2016 election by 20 points to Republican President Donald Trump — who has attacked the incumbent and endorsed his opponent.
Incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., faces Montana Auditor Matt Rosendale, a Republican, in the general election.
Trump has been in Montana to campaign for Rosendale, as has Vice President Mike Pence.
In interviews in which the candidates were asked about their opponents and issues that have been used in attack ads, Tester said Rosendale doesn’t understand Montana or Montana values, while Rosendale said Tester is a hypocrite who hasn’t upheld Montana values and principles in the 12 years he has been in office.
Tester said he best represents the state, and his record shows it.
“I’m a Montanan, I know Montana, I know the challenges of rural America,” Tester said.
He added that he has a proven track record for fighting for Montanans and the issues that are important to rural communities across the country, something that his opponent Rosendale does not have.
Tester said Rosendale, originally from Maryland, is an East Coast developer who moved to the state and bought a ranch but has no cattle and does not understand the values of public lands and why the land needs to remain in public hands.
Rosendale also doesn’t understand the veterans of this country, Tester said, and if people look into his voting history they will find that, while in the Montana Legislature, Rosendale voted against bills that supported veterans every chance he got, such as Southwest Montana Veterans Home, scholarships for Purple Heart recipients and housing benefits for Gold Star families.
Rosendale said he was the best candidate in the upcoming election because his principles and values line up with those of the people of Montana and, with him in office, those values will be expressed extremely well.
He added that he is a businessman, rancher and former legislator and is now regulating insurance and securities as state auditor and his past work demonstrates very clearly his experiences throughout his life. he added that these values and principles have not previously been demonstrated by Tester within the 12 years he has been in office.
Rosendale said that 10 percent of the state’s community is made up by veterans or active military, and the issues veterans face are not properly addressed.
“Waving a couple of pieces of legislature in the air does not provide doctors appointments to be scheduled any sooner,” Rosendale said.
He added that Tester had voted against the tax reform package that had passed through Congress, voting against tax reform for the people of Montana.
“That's unacceptable,” Rosendale said.
Tester said the nation's debt is one of the biggest issues facing the country. He added that the tax reform should cut out the loopholes which exist in the tax code, such as unnecessary tax breaks. He said the opportunity to reform taxes will come again.
The country faces trillions of dollars in debt, Tester said, and the appropriations process provides opportunities to cut back on programs that have outlived their purposes, which are ways to make cuts that will aid in reducing the deficit.
Tester added that the United States cannot keep getting into military conflicts if the nation hopes to reduce debt.
“The war on terror is real, but we cannot continue to fight every war in the world, otherwise it will be impossible to get the debt reduced,” Tester said.
Rosendale said his work in the Legislature proved that he is capable of reducing the debt without cutting any social programs for the elderly or those in need.
“I’ve always taken the time to review, to scrutinize the budget to find area where we can reduce spending,” Rosendale said.
He added that in his office he has reduced operating costs by 23 percent and reduced staffing by 6 percent, in addition to his being the only elected Montana official who declined a pay increase last summer.
“That's what a business person does, that's what a leader does,” Rosendale said.
Tester said the nation also needs to focus on infrastructure in the future, adding that Rosendale had voted against any infrastructure bills. Tester said the nation needs to adapt its infrastructure in order to match the times.
“We need a solid infrastructure bill to get us to the 21st century standards,” he said.
The nation also need to focus on securing its borders, Tester said, and it is critically important that it is done in the most effective way. He added that there are a lot of companies that can use technology to secure the border in a cost effective manner.
Rosendale said the nation needs secured borders and the country feels that President Donald Trump's wall should be built. He said he agrees with the deportation of illegal criminals, in addition to ending sanctuary cities.
Tester has been opposed to all of these things contrary to the will of the people of Montana, Rosendale said.
He added that Tester has also stood in opposition with the Supreme Court nominees, something that Rosendale said affects every aspect of people’s lives.
Rosendale said Tester had no problem with standing with President Barack Obama, confirming the appointments of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who Rosendale said are openly hostile to the Second Amendment.
When Tester had an opportunity to confirm a “good solid Constitutional” candidate in Neil Gorsuch, Rosendale said, Tester opposed it and Rosendale expects that Tester will do the same in the future.
Tester said he and his opponent’s backgrounds differ drastically. He supports the Second Amendment and he believes law-abiding citizens have the right to bear arms, although criminals and terrorists have forgone that right.
“I will continue to fight, to my dying breath, that the qualifying citizens will have guns because (guns) are a tool and they’re something that, when people use them responsibly, can be very, very positive,” Tester said.
Rosendale said he was thrilled to have the president come to Montana and invite Rosendale to stand beside him, adding that it was an incredible honor.
“I think that he sees that same thing that the people of Montana do, and that is that Jon Tester has been nothing but an obstructionist, trying to stop the president’s agenda from being passed,” Rosendale said.
He added that the Trump agenda is to expand the economy, protect our nation, expand health care options, reduce spending and reduce regulations.
“He sees that I’m a strong advocate for all of those things,” Rosendale said, “nNot only in words but in actions.”
Tester said having the president in the state is always a positive thing, although Trump was only in town for a short period of time and hopefully next time Trump is in Montana he will spend time learning about the state and the people who live in it.
Tester said that Trump saying “a vote for Tester is a vote for Chuck Schumer and a vote for Nancy Pelosi” was just common political campaign practice.
“That's just election-year politics. The fact is I've worked with President Trump to get 16 bills signed into law to help Montana,” Tester said. “We've worked together to hold the VA accountable, reduce government waste, fraud and abuse, and reducing regulations on Montana's banks and credit unions, the list goes on.”
Rosendale said recent questions regarding his campaign’s funding — where he loaned money to his campaign this year in the same amounts as people this year donated to repay his 2014 campaign loans — is a result of the Democrats not being able to discuss the big issues the country is facing, adding that people tend to complain about where money is being spent when it is being spent against them.
“They are talking about a process with which I very openly and publicly took money and then, through my own free will, made a determination to direct that into my own general election campaign,” Rosendale said. “People know where the money came from, they know where it’s going, you can’t be more transparent than that.
“They cannot beat me on the policies,” he added. “Jon Tester has supported increased spending. Jon Tester has supported increased regulations. Jon Tester hasn’t done anything for the veterans, and that’s disgraceful.”
Rosendale said that Admiral Ronny Jackson, who had served under three presidential administrations, underwent a character assassination from Tester, which Rosendale said were false accusations.
“They don't want Ronny Jackson in office so they did a character assassination. They don’t want Matt Rosendale in office so they are going to try a character assassination,” Rosendale said. “Guess what? The people of Montana can’t be fooled because I have served them effectively for the past eight years.”
Tester said he was just doing his job when he raised questions about Jackson.
“My job as a U.S. senator is to advise and consent, and we did do the due diligence on Ronny Jackson, then he withdrew his name,” Tester said.
He added that Trump had also nominated Robert Wilkie for the position of secretary of the VA. Tester said they had interviewed Wilkie and found that he was a good man.
“I think he’ll do a fine job as secretary of the VA,” said Tester, who voted to confirm Wilkie.
Tester said he had actively pushed to get Wilkie out of the committee and into the secretary of the VA position, and the Senate did so with only one vote no.
The issues with the VA are huge and Wilkie has a big job ahead of him, Tester said. He added that there have been a lot of political influence which has been the case before, but he is sure that Wilkie is the right person for the job.
He said the veterans deserve proper health care.
“We owe them a debt,” Tester said.
Tester said the Senate has passed a number of bills to improve the VA and, with Wilkie’s help, the agency can do so.
“(Wilkie) will make sure that the VA is implementing those bills to be able to allow veterans to get the health care that they’ve earned,” Tester said.
Tester added that the VA needs to focus on getting people in to appointments, in a timely manner, making sure the community care programs work and remain fully staffed.
On the issue of public lands, Tester said Rosendale doesn’t understand public lands and their importance to the people of Montana and that these lands should be preserved for future generations.
Rosendale said he supports the bill to release wilderness study areas.
He said these areas have been studies and were proposed to be released from study decades ago. Rosendale added that the communities most impacted do not have the ability to determine what level of travel should be allowed in those lands.
It is important to preserve the pristine beauty of Montana, Rosendale said, and added that his experience on the land board demonstrates his ability and knowledge of the problems. He said that while he was on the land board the board expanded access to 45,000 acres of state land, opened up 16 miles of roadway, and harvested more than 47 million board feet of timber.
“Not only in my words but in my actions have I demonstrated the ability to understand the landscape that we have in Montana is very diverse,” Rosendale said. “That there are areas that are very sensitive and there are areas that can be utilized for different things. We need to take a look at each area individually and determine as Montanans how’s the best way to manage that.”
During the Trump rally in Great Falls, where Trump endorsed Rosendale, Rosendale said Tester was a part-time farmer and a part-time senator.
Tester said there is no such thing as a part-time farmer and Rosendale, being from out-of-state, will never understand that.
“Anyone involved in agriculture knows there is no such thing as a part-time farmer or rancher,” Tester said. “Matt Rosendale claims to be a rancher but has never owned any cattle, so it makes sense that he and his friends think you can work in agriculture part time. I don't think Montanans want career politicians like Matt Rosendale, who's run for five different elected offices in eight years. I believe in the citizen Legislature model our Founding Fathers used and that we have in Montana. I am a farmer, a senator, and a Montanan. Matt Rosendale is none of those things.”
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