Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 10/20/20
Mike Cooney and Greg Giantforte are the two faces of Montana, writes the Washington Post. The two opponents vying for the open Governor seat epitomize old versus new Montana politics. Cooney, 66, is a Democrat, the kind you’d recognize on the street. With decades of public service under his belt, he’s the sitting lieutenant governor and grandson of a 1930s Montana governor. His opponent is two-term Rep. Greg Gianforte, 59, a Republican running on his credibility as a self-made multimillionaire in tech as well as a staunch supporter of the current president. As the state grows and gentrifies, these two men represent the balance of that power, and although Montana usually votes red, that only applies to presidential races—locally, the state has always leaned blue. “Democrats have occupied the governor’s office for the past 16 years, yet with a Republican-controlled legislature likely to hold, a Republican governor could undo more moderate policies on health care, public schools funding and labor protections,” writes Kathleen McLaughlin for the Washington Post.
