Montana

Busse beats Gianforte on latest fundraising haul • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2024

Busse beats Gianforte on latest fundraising haul • Daily Montanan

Money talks, as the old saying goes, and right now it may be telling the story that Republicans are more vulnerable than previously thought, according to fundraising reports and a political scientist.

On Wednesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse, who is challenging Republican incumbent Greg Gianforte, announced its campaign had raised more money during the previous quarter than Gianforte, notable for several reasons.

Gianforte, a multi-millionaire, has largely been able to bankroll his own elections to both Congress and the governorship. However, his donations haven’t kept pace with his opponent, who has been hammering on the message of property taxes, which have hit many Treasure State residents hard.

In official campaign finance reports filed with the State of Montana, Busse reports $525,533 raised from June 15 through Aug. 15, not including more than $135,000 it transferred from its primary account to the general election account. In that same period, Gianforte raised $355,404 for the general election but that number does not include $94,302 received for his primary account.

In other words, Busse hauled $170,129 more than Gianforte in the most recent quarter if transfers and primary contributions aren’t counted.

Even though Busse showed larger fund-raising results during the quarter, the incumbent governor still sits on substantially more cash than his Democratic opponent by a wide margin. In the same report, Gianforte reported having $745,819 on hand to Busse’s $234,302.

Paul Pope, associate professor of political science at Montana State University-Billings, said that Busse’s recent fundraising success could be the result of several different influences, including Gianforte’s vulnerability on statewide issues, or the surge of enthusiasm that was created when U.S. President Joe Biden decided to step aside, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to emerge.

Pope said Gianforte is vulnerable because of the deeply unpopular property increases, despite a program to offer rebates of as much as $675 to homeowners per year.

That decision on property taxes has rankled Republican members of Gianforte’s party as county-level Republicans have been frustrated by Gianforte, who they’ve said has lied about out-of-control spending at the local level. It hasn’t been the first time that Republicans have been alienated by the governor.

“That’s where (Gianforte) is losing people,” Pope said. “The tax cuts and his hype about the property taxes just doesn’t match the follow through.”

Last year, Republicans in the Legislature struck a deal with Democrats on how to allocate funding from recreational marijuana taxes, which included support for veterans and wildlife habitat. That measure was vetoed by Gianforte, which upset many members of his own party, and also led to a protracted legal battle and unsuccessful veto override. That strongly bipartisan deal included additional money for county roads, a perennial challenge for county governments across the state.

Gianforte’s popularity, especially in a state that has trended toward increasingly conservative candidates and a Republican supermajority in the Legislature, has been stalled. Gianforte has consistently showed a neutral favorability rating in a state where every major office holder is a Republican and only one statewide Democrat, incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester faces a tough challenger in Bozeman businessman Tim Sheehy.

“I think Gianforte may be taking for granted who he is — that he’s a Republican in a Republican state,” Pope said.

Pope’s department leads the Mountain States Polling project at MSU-B, which conducted a survey of Montana prior to the primary election, and will conduct another poll this fall in October, closer to Election Day.

He said that the momentum for the Democrats has been positive since Biden stepped aside, Harris’ selection and her selection of Tim Walz. Also, that the topic of abortion is on the ballot could also factor into the fundraising.

“All that energy at the top,” Pope said, “That excitement opens up purse strings. You can feel the energy.”

Still, as successful as one quarter of fund-raising may be for Busse, Pope warned that history is also a powerful indicator, and Democrats have underperformed in statewide races recently. Moreover, Montanans have to be convinced to vote for a Democrat, and that takes an “all-of-the-above strategy,” Pope said.

“The question is: Does Busse have enough time?” Pope said. “He has to use every tool in the arsenal. He’s got to take to the air game with advertisement, the ground game with door knocking and become visible.”

However, he said, the consistently neutral favorability rating of Gianforte, a Republican in a Republican-dominated state recently, spells trouble.

“He’s incredibly vulnerable. He’s not expecting to be, so the question is: Can Busse tap into it?” Pope said. “The Democratic Party has been extremely lackluster in getting good candidates, so many time the good ones are on their own.”

Source link

Click to comment

Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

9 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

21 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

Source link