Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has thrown his support behind Ryan Busse in the Democratic primary for Montana’s western congressional district, publishing a letter to the editor in the Daily Inter Lake this week. Schweitzer, a two-term governor who served from 2005 to 2013, argued that Busse has the independence, experience, and deep Montana roots needed to represent the region in Washington. The full text of Schweitzer’s letter appears below.
“Being a Montanan is not something you can teach or buy; it’s gotta come natural. We don’t care much for out-of-state endorsements and big D.C. money telling us who to elect or what’s important. We care about whether this place actually matters to you, whether you’ve put in the time in our communities, listened more than you talk, and have proven you’ll fight for us.
That’s why I’m supporting Ryan Busse for Congress.
Ryan isn’t some candidate cooked up in a D.C. backroom. He’s spent years traveling this state, sitting across from Montanans and hearing it straight, about this healthcare crisis, rising costs, threats to our public lands and the real pressure people feel trying to make ends meet in towns that too often get overlooked.
There’s a lot of money and D.C. influence flowing into this state right now, trying to tell you who to vote for.
Ryan has already proven he will fight and sacrifice for this place, and if there was ever a time to make sure we vote for a proven leader, it’s now. We must win this race and send someone with backbone to Washington.
We’ve got plenty of folks in Congress who don’t have the backbone to fight for universal healthcare or take on the insurance industry. We don’t need another one of those. We need someone who’s willing to call it like it is and fight like hell for the people back home.
If you want a representative who’s tough, independent, and determined to get things done, Ryan’s your guy. I hope you’ll join me in supporting him.”
