HELENA, Mont. — Ahead of the primary election on June 2, NBC Montana is interviewing candidates to get an idea of their policy stances.

NBC Montana sat down with current Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, who’s running as a Republican for Montana’s western U.S. House seat. The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who is not seeking reelection.

The full interview is embedded below on YouTube:

During the interview, Jacobsen repeatedly described herself as a “proven leader,” pointing to her time as Montana’s Secretary of State.

“I have delivered on all of my campaign promises starting from 2020 to secure our elections and partner with our business community,” said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen says she supports reducing the size of government, referring to her work as a state official.

“I have a proven track record, not only the votes that I have on the land board that support natural resource development and public access. But my proven track record by supporting businesses in the state, eliminating fees, cutting red tape, getting government out of the way, downsizing government, being accountable for spending, transparency securing our elections. I have a proven track record as delivering as a leader not just talking about it, but actually delivering on that. And that’s why in the last two general elections I’ve won by the largest margin of any other candidate on the ballot, including President Trump,” said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen cited reductions in her office’s staff, reductions in state government leases and reduced business filing fees, as well as voter ID requirements in state elections.

NBC Montana also asked Jacobsen about how she would plan to reduce the cost of housing. She said her approach would focus on “downsizing government,” reducing regulation and accelerating the permitting process.

“I think for Montanans, it’s important that we are eliminating taxes or reducing taxes, and as secretary of state I’ve done that, I’ve actually put the work into downsize government by reducing staff by half and reducing the number of state government leases from four to one. And with the savings, I’ve been able to provide better service for Montanans, our business community and our voters,” said Jacobsen.

When asked about the Trump Administration’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce through DOGE, she said the size of the federal deficit makes spending restraint a priority.

“I think that has to be priority to make sure that we have our spending under control and Montana’s have to live by a budget a secretary of state. I had to balance the budget I held the line with spending and that didn’t, that meant not even increasing the spending with inflation. It meant actually reducing the spending and I know if we’re able to do that at the secretary of state’s office that I will be able to do that in Congress and when you do that you can pass that savings on and in fact reduce taxes and make many of the tax cuts permanent,” said Jacobsen.

When asked about rural health care challenges, Jacobsen said she supports telehealth when appropriate, preventive care and reducing insurance-related red tape.

NBC Montana asked Jacobsen about her stance on the war in Iran.

“I think the president has done a good job with it being Operation Epic Fury, and I think Montanans want to see an end to it fairly quickly, and we’re supporting the president in hopes that happens soon,” said Jacobsen.

She said she hopes soaring gas prices are short-term. When asked about rising costs associated with the Trump Administration’s tariffs Jacobsen did not directly say whether or not she supports them.

“In general, I support free enterprise, and I think the less amount of government that we have, the less government interference and more private sector growth that we have as an opportunity for business to thrive and do it through free enterprise. That’s my position,” said Jacobsen.

NBC Montana asked Jacobsen on her willingness to work with leaders from the other party, referencing the longest government shutdown in U.S. history that lasted 43 days in 2025.

“It’s an absolute failure of our congressmen, and I do not believe that we should have any workers going and doing their job and congressman being able to take a vacation or take a break and continue to get paid. I would absolutely support that congressmen are not allowed to go home take a break or continue with a paycheck if they are in fact standing in the way of delivering for the workers and the people of our country,” said Jacobsen.

NBC Montana asked about President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican candidate Aaron Flint, who’s seeking the same seat.

“I have an amazing partnership with Trump, as you mentioned he endorsed me in 2024, and moving forward we’ve partnered with the Trump Administration to secure our elections and make sure that we have only citizens voting in the state and I think that’s an amazing partnership that I’m very proud of,” said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen avoided drawing a direct contrast with current U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke when asked what she would do differently.

When asked what separates her from other Republicans in the race, she said, “I’m a doer. I’m not a talker.”

She cited her statewide election margins and her work on the state land board.

HAMILTON, Mont. — By the turn of the 20th century elk populations in North America were at desperately low levels.

Years of unregulated hunting had decimated elk numbers.

But there was a healthy population of elk in Yellowstone National Park.

In 1912, a herd of elk from Yellowstone were transported to Hamilton.

Now mounts believed to be from the original Yellowstone elk are being celebrated at the new fire hall.

Taxidermist Kurt Kohn has restored the mounts of two of Hamilton’s most famous bull elk.

NBC Montana met the taxidermist at his shop where he showed us his work.

He restored one of the trophies in 1998.

He just completed the restoration of the second one.

Both bulls are believed to be important touchstones in modern elk populations.

“The elk were hunted to near extinction at the turn of the century,” said Kurt. “I had the rare privilege to restore one of the most historic elk in the United States, certainly in Montana but probably the United States as well. This is believed to be one of the original elk that were reintroduced to the Bitterroot Valley in 1912.”

To restock elk numbers in the valley, sportsmen and supporters initiated an ambitious effort in 1912 to transport dozens of elk from the park to Hamilton by train.

The first transport ended tragically when curious crowds stressed the already nervous elk.

“The first one was a failure,” said Kurt. ” A lot of the elk were killed due to a stampede and a crowd that was in Hamilton, Montana. It became a public spectacle.”

The next transport was successful.

“They let them go in the middle of the night,” said Kurt. ” Nobody else knew that it was happening other than the people involved in the reintroduction.”

The elk were held in an enclosure at the Bitter Root Stock Farm to become acclimated,” said Kurt, “before being released into the wild.”

The animals dispersed to the east in the Sapphire Mountains and propagated new generations of elk.

Kurt said it’s believed the elk he remounted are likely forebears of the elk we see today.

Pointing to the new mount he said, “this elk is important because it’s a piece of history. Generally, all the elk in Montana are probably related to this elk in some way.”

“There’s likely to be a strong connection to this elk,” he said,” and the elk introduced in the Bitterroot to all of the elk in Montana, and around the United States.”

The trophies had been mounted at Hamilton’s old fire hall for as long as anyone can remember.

Those mounts were treasured by generations of firefighters.

But the force outgrew the historic building downtown, and moved to a new location across town.

Since then, both mounts have been in Kurt’s taxidermy shop, waiting for transport to the new fire hall.

Hamilton Fire Captain Travis Walker helped Kurt move the mounts from Kurt’s shop to their new home in the new fire hall.

Travis calls the mounts a “memento to the fire department.”

Moving the bulls from the taxidermy shop was a delicate process.

The men had to be careful to make sure the elk’s racks were protected.

They loaded both mounts into the pickup, securing the elk so they wouldn’t be jarred on the trip.

After arriving at the hall, Kurt wrote a dedication on the back of a mount.

“That will be here for the next hundred years,” he said.

The mounts were installed on the kitchen wall, where crews spend a lot of time.

The elk have been mascots to fire crews for well over a hundred years.

“The Bitterroot is known for its big game species of hunting and most of the guys on the fire department are big hunters as well,” said Travis. “They would be our mascots. They’re part of our heritage of being firemen and the hunting part of the Bitterroot. “

Kurt said we don’t know exactly what happened to these elk, whether they were harvested in a hunt or died by other means.

The only parts of the mount that are original are the antlers and the skull plate.

Kurt’s son Kameron Kohn provided the cape for one of the elk.

It came from his successful bow hunting trip.

“I think it’s a really cool way to be able to honor the history of elk in the Bitterroot Valley,” said Kameron. ” It’s a great way to honor the memory of that hunt with me and my wife. It came from a similar sized bull and it’s a beautiful cape.”

“I think they needed to move with their fire people,” said Travis of the mounts, “They were lonely.”

Now, the Yellowstone bull elk are finally home, to be cherished at Hamilton Fire Department headquarters.