“Democrat or Republican? First thing. And when I say Democrat, they say ‘Oh you don’t want to talk to me!’ But I do. You may not vote for me but I still want to know what’s on your heart.” Jacob Bachmeier comes across as an introvert. He’s soft spoken, thoughtful, and seems to avoid the spotlight. He admits that he doesn’t love giving speeches but would rather meet voters at their doors, having the one-on-one conversations he believes government is based on.
But don’t let his humility fool you. Bachmeier has already achieved that rare feat even veteran politicians often can’t attain. In 2016, Bachmeier flipped a district. Not just any district. A district that had been held by a Republican for eight years. And he did it at only 18 years old.
In 2019, Jacob co-sponsored HB 726, a bill that helped parents of adult children with disabilities continue to collect child support after the child turns 18. The bill was signed into law, providing much needed support to disabled adults and the parents that continue to care for them.
After taking time away from politics, Bachmeier is running in Cascade County for the first time. And much like before, he’s looking forward to a tough race. Jacob is facing off against Republican Wendy McKamey. McKamey has served in Republican held districts HD 23 and HD 19 and is now seeking a Senate term. However Mckamey’s staunch anti-choice views may prove too extreme for the numerous Republicans and Independents that support our right to privacy.
Luckily for Jacob, speaking with Republicans is a skill he’s already honed. Politics is a family affair for Jacob. He grew up hearing stories about his great-grandpa Rex Manuel (D-Fairfield). A larger-than-life figure who served in the Montana House of Representatives during the golden age of state politics.. With a family evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, Bachmeier navigates both worlds seamlessly. So he does too with his identity as both a devout Christian and a pro-choice Democrat.
As a Queer person, I often feel cautious around folks who describe themselves as “devout Christians” for obvious reasons. (Sometimes they really don’t like LBGTQ+ people. Or women who’ve had an abortion.) I’ve known Jacob a bit for a few years now, and yet I was quite surprised to learn that Jacob is religious. When I asked why I hadn’t known this before, Jacob said simply, “I wouldn’t want someone else‘s religious views governing how I act as an individual. I try to keep my religious views out of government and laws.” Y’all. It’s the separation of church and state for me. That VITAL separation is truly lacking in Bachmeier’s opponent.
Although I didn’t know Jacob’s religious affiliation, I do know how he treats people. How he approaches conversations with his neighbors. And how he cares about others. These qualities are what led Jacob to becoming pro-choice. Even as a Democrat, Bachmeier entered the Legislature still unsure about how he would vote on this issue. So what changed his mind? Listening to his constituents. Bachmeier explains,
“When those bills started coming up, I would get lots of calls from people on both sides of the issue. As I got more calls form people that had abortions and told me their personal stories it became pretty clear to me that people don’t get an abortion because they think its fun. People don’t get an abortion as a common form of birth control. That’s just not how it works clearly. After talking to people there were a lot of complicated heartbreaking situations that were very unique to each individual person, and it became very clear in my mind that we can’t legislate and regulate every single individual and unique reason why someone might feel the need to get an abortion. Ultimately I decided we need to trust the people personally impacted and the medical professionals who perform those procedures.”
A candidate that is willing to learn, grow, and expand his views? Yes, please. What I learned from my conversation with Jacob is that he’s experienced both sides of the political spectrum. Politics for him is an opportunity to help his neighbor. We don’t have to share the same religious views to share the same values. His religion does not come into his politics, which is just as it should be. It does come into who he tries to be as a person.
Jacob sums it up nicely, explaining, “At the end of the day the Bible says to love all People. It even says to love your enemy. It’s very important to me to hear people out and hear what they care about. I want this country, this state, our community to be as good as it can be for everyone.”
When you think of what we need in Montana politics, do you think, “More laws proposed and voted on by multi-millionaires!” If that’s your stance then George Nikolakakas is your guy. George is running for one of Great Falls’ house districts as a political newcomer. As a multi-millionaire, George has self-funded his campaign to the tune of $47,000+. Whew. That’s quite the bucket of money to draw from for a $100 per day legislative pay.
What kind of legislator can we expect if he is elected?
George is a proud conservative with the funds and free-time to plaster his image on bench ads, billboards, and on those political mailers we all know and love. I’ve never met George but I’ve had the pleasure of seeing his diatribes on various Facebook posts. It’s interesting to see politicians claim their priorities are X, Y, and Z as if their other positions won’t impact us just as much. The Montana GOP is just two seats away from a legislative supermajority. And we all know their agenda if they get that supermajority. Re-writing our Montana Constitution that protects our environment and human rights. It’s not a guess what Republicans will do when they are elected in our state. They have told us their priorities in their party platform. You know the one where they say no abortions with no exceptions for rape and incest. What a Pro Mother-Killing stance.
If you elect George, will you get a sycophant to the Republican party platform? We can’t 100% know as he is new to the scene. But we can let him tell us in his own words what he thinks about abortion.
Here’s the problem with George’s “moderate” position on abortion. Abortion is healthcare and one in four women will need an abortion in our lifetimes. It’s not a wedge issue, THIS IS OUR LIVES. I guess it’s easy to overlook pregnancy risks if you don’t have a uterus. Must be nice not to be worried about that and focus on other things.
With a stance like that, we can assume that he will vote in line with all the other Republican extremists in our state and continue to remove our healthcare access. Relegating women back to the 1950s, the conservative dream.
But we still have time. Do not vote for “moderates” coming for your rights. We have until November 8th, let’s show up for ourselves and future generations.
It’s called a “Super Majority.” And Republicans are just two legislative seats away from having it. It means that, in addition to the crappy bills they pass in the legislature, they will be able to change the foundation of our government that protects citizen rights. . . the Montana Constitution. And they just can’t wait to do it.
First, they will be able to propose constitutional amendments by referring them to the ballot, if they garner the support of two-thirds of legislators. That means that 100 politicians in Helena can put amendments to our constitution on the ballot. Currently, amendments can only be proposed by gathering enough citizen signatures. It’s hard to do, meaning that lots of amendments are proposed, but few actually make it to the ballot.
Second, a super majority can call for an unlimited constitutional convention by referring a convention call to the ballot. If approved, a convention can propose changes to virtually anything in the constitution by a vote of the delegates. At a time when large swaths of the Republican Party support the January 6th insurrection and believe the hocus pocus dished out by the likes of Donald Trump, it is scary to think about what they would do to our constitution.
We encourage everyone to look at our constitution. It is an amazing document. https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca_toc/index.htm We thought it would be good to list a few of the rights we stand to lose if the Republicans achieve their super majority in this election.
Section 4. Individual dignity. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. Neither the state nor any person, firm, corporation, or institution shall discriminate against any person in the exercise of his civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas.
Section 8. Right of participation. The public has the right to expect governmental agencies to afford such reasonable opportunity for citizen participation in the operation of the agencies prior to the final decision as may be provided by law.
Section 9. Right to know. No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.
Section 10. Right of privacy. The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.
Article IX (1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.
Article X, (2) The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity.
Of course these are just words on paper (or pixels on a screen). The constitution comes alive over time and primarily through actions in the court system. Here in Montana and nationally conservative Republicans believe they have lost many of their goals in the courts. One result is that they have made it a priority to replace judges who don’t share their views. This is probably the reason so many evangelicals supported Trump. . .and he delivered for them by appointing three Conservative Supreme Court justices. Here in Montana, Supreme Court candidate Jim Brown is the epitome of a judge with a Republican agenda.
Changing our constitution would be the Holy Grail for the far right in Montana. And they are very close to being able to do it in the Montana Legislature. The stakes in this election are very high. If you care about protecting our constitution, vote for Democrats.
In the last monthly reporting period that ended October 15, Kerns reported receiving over $6,500. A large chunk of that came from Republican organizations and officials. Here’s a breakdown.
Former and current legislators:
Mark Noland (Flathead County)…………………………………….$250
Steve Fitzpatrick (Cascade County)……………………………..$100
Steve Gist (Cascade or Flathead County?)……………………$400
George Nikolakakos (Legislative Candidate Cascade County)…….$208
Republican PACs:
Cascade County Republican Central Committee………..$200
Cascade Republican PAC………………………………….$400
So, why do you suppose Kerns is getting this late infusion of cash from politicos in the Republican Party? Could it be that they can see that Kerns’ opponent, Melissa Smith, has run a strong campaign? Could it be that Kerns has not run a good campaign? Could it be that this house district has the best “numbers” for Democrats in Cascade County? Probably all of the above.
I first spotted Nick Henry at a protest. Standing over 6ft tall and carrying a huge, tattered American flag, he was hard to miss. My initial thought was “Is this Republican here to start shit?” So as any good organizer would, I asked him just that. I quickly learned that this patriotic giant was attending as a supporter. Thus began my acquaintance with HD 22’s Democratic Candidate, Nick Henry.
At the time we met, I was actually running for that same seat. So, Nick and I had several conversations about what mattered to him and what mattered for our district. There are plenty of points we agree on, and a few that we don’t. I’d say what stands out most about Nick is his firm belief in the good of people- even those he doesn’t agree with.
Nick is many things. He’s a husband, a public servant, a deeply spiritual person, and a hunter. He’s also an outspoken advocate for mental health services, especially for men. Nick takes on the stigma of mental health directly. He’s been very forthcoming about his own struggle with depression, including a previous attempt to take his own life. Now, Nick is looking to revitalize the mental health care system in Montana.
What I think makes Nick stand out the most though, is that he’s a regular hardworking guy who knows that you can work your ass off and still be poor. I grew up in a doublewide trailer in a neighborhood full of trailers. The same neighbor Nick is running in. The fact is, running for office is time consuming. Its expensive, and unless you’ve got easy access to cash it can be almost unattainable. Most of us can’t afford to self-fund. Most of us are living paycheck to paycheck. We’re being priced out of the housing market. Gas and utilities are going up, and we’re doing a lot more math figuring out how we’re gonna make ends meet each month.
Nick is living this same struggle. He works a full-time civil servant position, but you’ll still find him doing odd jobs on the weekend and stocking his fridge with wild game to get through the winter. He’s one of very few candidates that understands the daily struggle of low and middle income families- because he lives it. Money has taken such a hold on politics that you’ll almost never see a guy like Nick with his name on the ballot. Electing one of our own is a rare opportunity. The biggest point of agreement between me and Nick is that class solidarity is the most powerful force in the world. I can think of no better person to represent HD 22, our home, than Nick Henry.
Two texts I’ve received from Barbara on countless occasions.
When initially deciding on how I wanted to go about writing this, I couldn’t move past the first question “How can I help?” which is essentially Barbara’s signature phrase at this point. Not just for me though, but to essentially anyone who reaches out to her.
For background, not only am I Barbara’s treasurer, I’m also her cousin. Though we’re tied by blood, we really didn’t know each other until 2015 when I moved to Great Falls. One of the first things we talked about was her desire to run for office and be able to help her community on a larger scale than just her position working Substance Abuse Prevention in Cascade County. 2016 was too soon to fully prepare, but she set her eyes on the 2018 cycle and dove in.
I’ve had the privilege of walking with her while she’s knocked doors on multiple occasions and, not only does she speak (and continues to speak) truthfully with constituents, but she listens actively and wholeheartedly. Barbara remembers specifics about those living in her district. She takes causes they’re passionate about and concerns they have to heart and, from the second she walks away from the door, starts brainstorming solutions on how she can help.
I’ve watched Barbara face many obstacles as a candidate, Representative, and person. I could list a slew of traits that I see in her that she keeps close in her toolkit to be the very best representation for House District 24, but at the end of the day only one thing matters.
Barbara wants to help.
I’ve heard, personally, on the doors in HD 24 that some voters feel Barbara’s opponent will “say anything” to get the vote. In contrast to that, Barbara isn’t the candidate that will smile at your door for five minutes and disappear until the next election.
She’s the candidate with true integrity and tenacity.
Grit.
The candidate that is reachable year round – not just during the election, and not just during legislative sessions.
Truly, Barbara Bessette is the best candidate to represent -all constituents- across House District 24. Period.
