GOP campaigns at Havre Lincoln-Reagan Dinner

The Hill County and Blaine county Republican parties held their annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Sunday evening with candidates and political figures from the local, state and national levels speaking, along with a few candidate announcements.

The event, held at the Duck Inn in Havre, sold out seats, with Hill County GOP Chair Andrew Brekke saying its good to be back after missing a year due to COVID-19.

Among the local candidates is incumbent Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean, who touted her personal faith as a Christian, as well as her accomplishments during her time at Hill County.

McLean faces commission office administrative assistant Sheri Williams, who filed as a Democrat, in the race.

McLean said she helped raise the wages of certain positions within the county and worked on implementation of a free health program for county employees, Health Is, health being a passion of hers.

Despite touting health as a core concern of hers, she said she doesn't believe the government has a responsibility to look after the health of its citizens.

"It's our own responsibility to take care of our own health, not our government's responsibility," she said.

McLean also asked for people to consider the best interests of their county when voting on whether or not to allow the county to impose a 3 percent tax on marijuana sales, the legalization of which she said she didn't vote for, citing the impacts of addiction on her family and others.

Shane Fox, who is running for a seat on the Blaine County Commission also gave a short address and asked the group for their support.

Candidates for the state House and Senate also made appearances that night including Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, running for reelection, thanked the group for their support in getting so many Republicans elected in 2020 this year who, particularly Gov. Greg Gianforte, who he said has allowed them to pass legislation they haven't been able to implement in 16 years.

Tempel's primary opponent, Steve Chvilicek, announced his candidacy at the dinner, in a speech where he talked about his childhood education and what he hopes to bring to the Montana senate.

"I believe in the Constitution, I want freedom, I'm pro-life, I love guns, I believe in God," he said.

He said he wants to take care of small businesses and ag producers while in the Legislature.

Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, who is not up for reelection this year, was not able to attend, but Brekke read a letter from him reaffirming his support for the private sector as the creator of wealth as opposed to government, and asked for support for local Republicans like Tempel, as well as Rep. Ed Hill, R-Havre, and Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta.

Hill told the audience he's proud of his voting record in the last legislative session despite the target it put on his back, which he said has become a motivator.

Hill faces Democrat Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development, in his race.

Knudsen, who said he would run for speaker of the house, touted the accomplishments of Republicans in the last session, but said there is still room to improve, especially when it comes to court reform.

Another member of the Montana House, Rep. Josh Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, also gave a short speech, saying he will continue to fight for the area's small businesses and is proud to have worked with Gianforte on helping give a tax exemption through House Bill 303.

State- and national-level figures also appeared, including keynote speaker Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who is not up for election and who said he wears the badge of "the most hated man in Helena" proudly.

During his speech he said the crime and drug problems in Montana have gotten much worse in recent times and made a number of unsubstantiated claims regarding the southern border's role in Montana's drug problem.

He also touted his office's efforts to combat vaccine-related mandates by the Biden administration on the national level, and, on the state level, praised Republicans for getting so many pro-life bills passed with Gianforte's help.

However, he said, the Montana Court system remains a bastion of the democrats' making implementation of some of these bills hard, attacking two Montana Supreme Court justices by name, Ingrid Gustafson and Jim Rice.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen also made a brief appearance where she asked people to vote in their school board of trustee elections and praised traditional education.

During her speech she accused the media of attempting to demean her, but said she will continue to stand strong for her beliefs.

"In Montana our children are our treasures," she said.

Montana Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci, who is unopposed to date in his campaign for reelection also spoke at the dinner and advocated that the district map for the commission to either not be changed or be changed via a special session of the Legislature.

Federal courts are hearing a case brought by two former Republican elected officials, including former Montana Secretary of State and Senate President Bob Brown, arguing that the Public Service Commission Districts, which have not been updated in nearly two decades have become unbalanced as a result of population shifts and now violate the "one person, one vote" principal of the U.S. Constitution.

Judges have ruled that Montana cannot certify candidates for these positions while the lawsuit proceeds and some in Montana have called for a special session to redraw the districts, while others have argued that they should wait until the next legislative session.

Pinocci encouraged people to call law makers to demand a special session.

He also advocated more generally for Montana to produce more energy.

U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who is running for reelection to Montana's eastern district spoke out during the dinner against vaccine mandates and gun control and accused Democrats of pushing "Marxism."

In addition to touting his own achievements in Congress, he said the body should take control of regulating the flow of refugees into the U.S., set up vetting processes to screen them for criminality and cultural compatibility with the U.S.

His primary opponent James Boyette of Bozeman introduced himself to the group, saying he would fight for truth and transparency in government, hold politicians accountable for their actions and weaken corporate power in Washington.

He said while he identifies as a Republican and will be running on the Republican ticket he values bipartisanship and believes politics should be about people not just party, that politics is frustrating and contentious, but that's how its supposed to be.

Another Republican who filed in that race but did not speak was Kyle Austin of Billings, formerly of Havre.

Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, running for the House seat representing Montana's western district, said the U.S. is in a dangerous place, and advocated for restarting the Keystone XL pipeline, empowering U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to go after sanctuary cities and support U.S. Customs and Border Patrol as well as building a southern border wall.

"You can't have a country without a border," he said.

Zinke said he has former president Donald Trump's full endorsement and chastised current President Biden's administration for its handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan saying it emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who is not up for election, was not able to show up to the dinner but did send a letter thanking those there for their support.

In the letter he said Biden's agenda is "radical" and "socialist" and must be opposed for being against the American energy industry, being "pro-abortion" and undermining election security.

"Under Biden and the Democrats they want to take our guns, our culture and even our hamburgers," his letter said.