by Helena Lovick | Sep 16, 2026 | Democrats, Politics, Republicans
This post is from WTF406.com’s archives. You can see other archived posts by searching on a name or topic on WTF406.com’s landing page. Please hit the subscribe button if you are not already a subscriber. This post ran on August 8, 2025.
Let’s talk about “moderate” Republicans. I’ve been hearing about this perspective for years. Some political “experts” think we should support moderate Republicans when they run for districts that are an uphill battle for Democrats. This is different from the calls for voting in a Republican primary to help ensure a more reasonable politician is elected as the blog previously discussed here. Instead, the moderate Republican strategy I’m talking about includes: not investing in Democrats, not supporting Democrats in general elections, not endorsing Democratic candidates, even all the way up to voting for a Republican in a general election.
Rather than recruiting a strong Democrat and trying to put it all on the field, some people believe it is a winning strategy to not even put up a fight, roll over and give the win to a moderate. “At least we can elect someone that is easy to work with!” So….does that strategy payoff? Do these Republicans vote more moderately? Is it preferable to throw support behind a moderate Republican rather than trying to help a Democrat in a lop-sided race?
I’m going to have to say HELL NO. There’s a reason why Wayne Gretzky said, “you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” If you want to make in-roads in a district, you actually have to work on building relationships with the voters in that district.
But another aspect of “at least we elected a moderate” is that THEY AREN’T MODERATE. Over and over again we have seen that the people who are willing to run for office as a Republican in these times are extremists. Sure, they might throw you a bone and help Medicaid expansion get across the finish line (as they did in 2025), but they throw working people and marginalized groups under the bus every day. We’ve written about GOP bigotry of the moderates and MAGA in 2023, but here we are again!
I mean just take a look at how our Great Falls area Republicans voted during the 2025 Legislative Session.
Great Falls Area Republican Legislators
First, here is your list of Great Falls area Republican Legislators with their moderate or MAGA label. The Moderate descriptor is based on participation in the Solutions Caucus, support by the Conservatives4MT PAC, and/or community perspective.
How did they vote? (Shocker – Against us and our future)
In the following table, some key votes of moderate Great Falls area Republicans are listed. Bill descriptions are listed on the left. State Senators Trebas and Emrich are consistently MAGA bigots, and they voted the wrong way on every one of the following bills. Their votes are not shown in the table. Votes are coded with a green color when they are bipartisan and pro-working people.
As you can see in the table, in the vast majority of cases, so-called moderate Republicans vote with the Republican caucus and against the people. If you’re looking for more data on how these clowns voted, you can check out the deeper dive by the Daily Montanan here.
Any Good News? What about the Democrats?
It’s worth noting that our lone Democratic legislator in the Great Falls area, Jane Weber, voted the kind, forward-thinking way on all of these bills. I also give some credit to Republican Senator Wendy McKamey for voting against her caucus significantly more frequently than any other Great Falls area Republican.
It was good to see that Medicaid Expansion in Montana lived another day with the 2025 legislature. But the Big Ugly Bill passed by our federal government (also run by Republicans) just made giant cuts to Medicaid. So what is the benefit to electing moderates when we expect nearly 40,000 Montanans to lose insurance? Sure doesn’t seem like the payoff for ditching Democrats to support Republican Lite is worth it.
What should I do to help turn things around?
Inform yourself when politicians ask for your vote. Is the way they vote kind to you or your neighbors? Is it kind to attack our environment and attack our freedoms to be who we are and to have bodily autonomy? Is that the future you want? I sure don’t.
It is a lot easier to sleep at night when you know that your elected representatives have your back. (Rather than have a knife in your back.) Let’s put up a left leaning candidate in every district and try to build some real momentum away from the rightward slide of Montana and our country. And whoever gets elected, let’s continue to pressure them to do the right thing.
by Ken Toole | Aug 29, 2026 | Money, Politics, Vote
If you are a voter in Montana’s Eastern Congressional District, you may have noticed that you are seeing those glossy, oversized postcards candidates send out this time of year. Some of those are from Troy Downing. He is currently running for re-election to Montana’s Eastern Congressional District seat.
You may have also seen brief video ads from Troy Downing while watching your favorite programs. You may not have noticed that you are helping to pay for those ads.
It’s called “franking.” It allows members of Congress to send communications to their constituents, paid for by taxpayers. The program is funded through each congressional office’s Member’s Representational Allowance. The amount varies, but generally runs between $1.8 and $2 million.
The allowance breaks down into three categories: personnel and staffing, official office expenses, and official mail expenses. Since 2023, Downing’s allowance has averaged $1,928,107.
It is no secret that incumbents often increase their use of franked mail during campaign season. And based on our mailboxes and video screens, Downing appears to be taking full advantage of this federal largesse.
Of course, this is in addition to Downing’s campaign fundraising and the personal money he has “loaned” to his campaign. Downing is a very wealthy man.
Federal Election Commission reports filed through June 30, 2026, show that Downing has received total campaign receipts of a little over $2 million. He has spent about $1.5 million so far. In addition, he has loaned his campaign committee a little over $2 million.
For comparison, retired cardiologist Michael Eisenhauer who is running as an independent has received just under $300,000, but only about $50,000 came from contributors. The rest was a loan of approximately $250,000 from himself.
Brian Miller, the Democrat in the race, is running an aggressive, issue-based campaign focused heavily on concerns about data centers. He has raised just under $20,000, with no personal loans.
The golden rule in politics is: “The one who has the money makes the rules.”
Clearly, Troy Downing has the money in this race. Too bad he also has his hands in taxpayers’ pockets to help pay for his campaign.
Our democracy has been stolen by big money. We desperately need campaign finance reform.
Vote for Initiative 194 — The Montana Plan.
by Guest Cartoonist | Aug 13, 2026 | Democrats, Independent, Politics, Republicans
Guest Cartoonist, John Moore
August 13, 2026
by Guest Cartoonist | Aug 11, 2026 | Corruption, Politics, Republicans
Guest Cartoonist, John Moore
August 11, 2026
by Guest Writer | Aug 4, 2026 | Democrats, Elections, Politics, Republicans
Guest Post By Joe Hancock, Chair of Gallatin County Democrats
This election year, four candidates garnered enough support from Montana voters to earn a place on the ballot for our U.S. Senate race: Kurt Alme, Kyle Austin, Alani Bankhead, and Seth Bodnar. Every demand for one of these candidates to withdraw from this election is an attempt to disenfranchise Montanans who participated in the nominating process.
I’ve read two meandering letters in the past month from liberal lawmakers and lawyers with conclusions that seem to be informed by self-interest rather than common sense. If an idea seems too cute by half, it is probably a bad idea. This isn’t the first time this year that I’ve seen lawyers argue a novel legal theory meant to undermine the electoral process established in Montana Code Annotated.
While I’m frustrated by these privileged few squabbling over a senate campaign, I’m truly angry that this feckless infighting has insulated Montana Republicans from criticism as they promote dangerous new policies and fundraise on a platform of social exclusion. Working Montanans continue losing economic ground because of state and local government policy failures while these people waste time and political capital on a fight nobody wins.
The GOP put red meat on the table when their flat-tax proposal hit the front page, but so-called Democrats are digging for gristle in the dumpster. We have data, history, and experience that can inform a strong message in opposition to a flat income tax, but the loudest voices in our party have gone hoarse from screaming into the void.
A declaration of support for Alani Bankhead from a member of the Montana Democratic Party is simply a reminder of the written mission to elect Democrats to local, statewide, and federal offices to ensure a government of the people, by the people, and for the people of Montana. It is no more controversial than the MSU president announcing support for the Bobcats football team.
My role as the chair of the Gallatin County Democrats is to pursue this mission to the best of my ability, and my commitment is fueled by my belief in that mission. As a leader, I owe my fellow members my judgment, and as a person, I owe myself a faithful adherence to my code of ethics. My approach has been forged by a life of service and my sworn oaths as an airman and an engineer, committing my skills and knowledge to the public good and in support of democracy.
I expect all four candidates in this race to be on the ballot following the withdrawal deadline of August 10. Should a surprise vacancy occur on the Democratic ticket, I will ensure another qualified candidate is nominated so we can continue our mission to serve the people of Montana and give our opponents the lumber in November.
by Guest Writer | Jul 31, 2026 | Elections, Guest Articles, Politics
Guest Post From David Sirota, Editor of The Lever
You literally have no idea who is “electable”. Stop pretending you do, and stop thinking you should calibrate your vote on who is “electable” rather than on who is pushing good policies that would help you and your community.
A flippant note from a political science professor reminds me of something I want to reiterate now and basically in every election cycle for the rest of my angst-ridden life: There is now an entire cottage industry of media elites, academics and aspiring online “influencers” who market themselves the all-knowing Understanders Of Electability™ — and who work to convince you, the Democratic primary voter, that you should condition your votes on candidates’ “electability”….when in reality, literally nobody knows who is “electable” and who isn’t.
Most of these purveyors of “electability” have never in their entire lives deigned to once do the difficult unglamorous work of actually toiling in politics or on a political campaign — and yet they waive around polls and pitch themselves as modern-day oracles. They are the political version of Jim Cramer, often flagrantly wrong and yet indefatigably confident.
That’s actually what they are selling – confidence, or really, a con game. They sell the idea that Democratic primary voters should be pundits who vote not for their own interests, but who vote for some mythical idea of “electability” that these elites alone determine…even though we’ve been shown over and over and over again that nobody has any idea who will be “electable.”
This class of geniuses told us that a freshman senator named Barack Hussein Obama could never be an “electable” candidate for president.
They were so convinced that Donald Trump wasn’t “electable” that they cheered when he won the Republican presidential nomination, and insisted there was no possible way he could win a swing state like Michigan.
Most recently, they sold the idea that Kamala Harris was the only “electable” choice for president, that she was running a “brilliant” campaign — and that her corporate centrism was working to win her the White House.
David J. Sirota is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever, a reader-supported investigative news outlet focused on exposing the negative influence of corporate corruption on American society. He was a speechwriter and senior adviser for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Sirota served as a senior strategist for Brian Schweitzer’s unsuccessful 2000 Senate campaign and successful 2004 gubernatorial campaign.
For more biographical information check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sirota
