Election 'fun' just getting started
It was just over a week ago that Rob Quist reported he had raised $900,000 in his race against Greg Gianforte for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House. A few days later Gianforte reported he had raised $1.6 million.
Now we’ve received word from Quist that he has passed the $2 million mark in campaign contributions. We trust that Greg Gianforte will soon leapfrog that number as the two candidates take advantage of the national spotlight on this special election.
The possibility of having the House of Representatives flip to the Democrats in 2018 has the national media salivating, and so the races leading up to the mid-terms are being studied for clues about the future the way old ladies used to study tea leaves.
And the race hasn’t just brought in big dollars; it’s also bringing in big names. Tonight, Donald Trump Jr. will be in Kalispell to campaign for Republican Gianforte as part of a statewide swing, and next month Sen. Bernie Sanders will give Democrat Quist his blessing.
Buckle up and get ready for a wild ride the last month of the campaign. All that money means endless TV ads trying to convince you how bad the other guy is. The funny thing is that probably 90 percent of people already know how they are going to vote, and the 10 percent who don’t probably shouldn’t be allowed to vote anyway if they can’t figure out the vast differences between these two candidates without being told.
The good news is that the calendar is foreshortened for this special election, so it will soon be over. The bad news is that the Senate race featuring the re-election bid of Jon Tester is just getting started, and that one promises to be even more raucous, more contentious and more ugly.
Welcome to the world of politics.
Airport scanner needed
Glacier Park International Airport is poised to have yet another record-breaking summer. Nearly half a million passengers passed through the airport last year, a number that is likely to climb with the addition of new flights and expanded air service this summer.
In anticipation of the increased traffic, the airport has requested a third baggage scanner from the Transportation Security Administration to ensure timely security screening for passengers. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has joined the airport in lobbying for the additional machine, making note of the airport’s critical role in the regional economy and tourism industry.
We support this request.
This summer, it is estimated that nearly 500 passengers will be at the airport during the morning rush. That’s a whopping 28 percent bump over last summer. Our little airport is only getting busier. It’s time to make the appropriate investment to accommodate this growth.