Gianforte and Busse agree to Montana governor debate

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and Democratic challenger Ryan Busse have agreed to debate after initial reluctance from Gianforte’s campaign, which criticized Busse as an unserious candidate lacking credibility. Busse released 10 years of his income tax records to address transparency concerns, a point previously criticized by Gianforte’s campaign. The debates were originally scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, but it remains unclear if Gianforte will participate in either.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and Democratic challenger Ryan Busse have seemingly agreed to debate, despite Gianforte’s campaign previously criticizing the Democratic candidate. Last week, Busse’s campaign released a decade of his tax records to The Associated Press, addressing a prior criticism from Gianforte’s team.

“If this is the singular reason why Gianforte will not debate, I’m not going to let him have that excuse,” Busse told The Associated Press.

Gianforte’s campaign had stated in an email that debating Busse, whom campaign manager Jake Eaton called “unhinged,” would not serve the public interest. Eaton wrote, “Hosting a debate with an unserious candidate, who has no credibility, who actively dodges transparency, and who makes unhinged comments comparing Republicans to Nazis and fascists, would neither be informative nor advance the public interest.”

On Tuesday, Eaton told AP that Gianforte, who previously submitted his tax records to The Associated Press, is pleased Busse has now done the same. “As the governor made clear, now that Mr. Busse, after repeated prodding, released his tax returns, he welcomes a debate,” Eaton told AP.

Two gubernatorial debates were initially set for Oct. 1 on the Montana Television Network and Oct. 7 on Montana PBS and public radio. As of Tuesday, it remains unclear whether Gianforte will participate in either debate. MTN News indicated uncertainty about including both candidates in its planned debate.