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BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
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Born inMissoula in1966,Bullock
grewupinHelena,deliveringnews-
papers to the governor’s residence
startinginelementaryschool.(Oneof
hisstockjokes:“I’vemadeit fourblocks
inlife.”)Hisschoolboardmothermostly
raisedhimandhisbrotherafterdivorc-
inghisteacherfather.A coupleofyears
afterBullockgraduatedfromColumbia
LawSchoolwithsixfiguresofstudent
debt,though,it washisdad,dyingof
lungcancer,whohelpedleadhimback
toMontana.Whilecaringforhisfather,
Bullockgota jobasa stafflawyeratthe
Montanasecretaryofstate’soffice.A few
yearslaterhe’dbecomethechiefdep-
utyofthestate’sattorneygeneral,and
then,aftera stintinprivatepractice,
theAGhimself.Inthatposthedefended
Montana’scentury-oldbanoncorporate
electionspending,thoughhelostinthe
U.S.SupremeCourtafterit significantly
deregulatedcampaignfinance with its
CitizensUnitedruling.
Bullocknarrowlywonthegovernor-
shipin 2012 onthepromisetosafeguard
unionsbyvetoingright-to-workbills,
giveeveryhomeownera $400prop-
ertytaxrebate,and protecthunting
andfishing.Duringhistwotermshe’s
workedwithRepublicanlegislatorsto
expandMedicaidtocovermorethan
90,000Montanansandkeepruralhospi-
talsopenandtoforceallgroupsengaged
inlate-gamepoliticalspendingtodis-
closetheirdonors.(Another Bullock
favorite:“MakeWashingtonworkmore
likeMontana.”)He’sfailedtopushpub-
lic funding for preschool through the
legislaturebuthasmanagedtoblock
taxcutsfavoringhigher-incomeresi-
dentsandregularlyusedhisveto power
toprotectabortionrights.
Under Montana’s term-limit law,
Bullockhastoleavethegovernor’sres-
idencenextyear.Non-Montananscan
beforgivenformissinghiscampaign
forpresident,whichlastedmorethan
six months; he ranmostly oncam-
paignfinancereformandhisrecordof
attractingTrumpvoters,andhequali-
fiedforonlyoneDemocraticdebate.
Beforeandafter,hestrenuouslydenied
anyinterestinchallengingDaines.But
nationalDemocraticPartyleaderssaw
Bullock’spopularityasanopportunity.
FormerPresidentObamametwiththe
governorinFebruarytoaskhimtorun
againstDaines,asdidNewYork’sChuck
Schumer,theSenateminorityleader.On
March9,Bullockbecametheonlysitting
U.S.governorrunningfortheSenate.
AndthatwasbeforeMontanaknew
justhowbadCovid-19wasgoingtoget.
Bullockdeclareda stateofemergency
onMarch12,closedpublicschoolson
March15,andorderedMontanansto
stayathomeonMarch26.Heissueda
maskorderinJuly,aftercasesstarted
torise.“Montanawasdoingverywell
andhadsomeofthelowestcases,”says
Jeremy Johnson,a political scientist
atCarrollCollegeinHelena.“Nowit’s
creptupsomewhat,buthe’smaintained
a highapprovalfor his handling of the
Covidcrisis.”
DainessaysBullockhasbeenslow
to distribute the morethan $1.2bil-
lion in federal pandemic relief that
MontanareceivedinMarch.Daines,58,
hasdefinedhimselfasa staunchlycon-
servativeRepublican,deepredwhere
Bullockis purple.Heopposesabortion
rightsandgunrestrictions,andvotedfor
the 2017 taxcutlawthatconcentratedits
reliefoncorporationsandthewealth-
iesttaxpayers(only,however,afterhis
colleaguesamendedit toincreasecuts
forsmallbusinesses).Dainesis thekind
ofpoliticianMontananstendtoelectto
theirloneU.S.Houseseat,a positionhe
heldfortwoyearsbeforehiscurrent
post.TheHouseseatwashisfirstpolit-
icaloffice,buthe’dbeenrisinginstate
Republicancirclesforsomeyearsbefore
that,mostnotablyasthecandidatefor
○ DAINES lieutenant governor on a ticket that
MONTANA
U.S.
LATEST POLLING
2016
2012
2008
2004
2000
1996
1992
Daines 50%
Bullock 44%
53%
42%
Trump
Biden
NUMBEROF SENATORS
FROMSAMEPARTYAS
LASTPRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATEWHO WON
THEIR STATE
100
50
0
1953 2019
SENATE MAKEUP,
116THCONGRESS
Homestatevoted
for otherparty’s
presidential
candidatein 2016
Independent
(caucuseswith
Democrats)
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population 1.1m
White† 86%
AmericanIndian 7%
Latino 4%
Asianor Pacific
Islander 1%
Black <1%
Two or moreraces3%
Populationchange,
2010-19 +8.0%
Medianhousehold
income $53k
Homeownershiprate
67.7%
Unemploymentrate,
June 2020 7.2%
Lifeexpectancy 78.8
Confirmed
coronaviruscases
per 100k people 635
2018
2014
2012
2008
2006
2002
2000
STATESWITHFEWESTPEOPLE
PER SQUARE MILE, 2010
Alaska Wyoming Montana
Presidential
Senate
6.8
U.S.
87.4
ELECTIONRESULTS
Democrat
Republican
Other
Won the state
BECAUSE†WHITEEXCLUDESLATINOISLATINOS.CONSIDEREDPERCENTAGESANETHNICITY,ADDNOTUPTOA RACE.MORETHANDATA:100%U.S.CENSUS
STATISTICS;BUREAU;2014-18COUNTYAMERICANHEALTHCOMMUNITYRANKINGS;MITSURVEY;ELECTIONU.S.BUREAUDATAANDOFLABORSCIENCELAB;
JOHNSGARY JACOBSON, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO; U.S. SENATEHOPKINSUNIVERSITY;EMERSONCOLLEGEPOLLING,JULY31-AUG.2;