29OO U W- PLACES
publiclands.DainescalledtheGreat
AmericanOutdoorsAct“agreataccom-
plishment,yearsinthemaking.”Bullock
saidhisopponentdidn’tshowthesame
commitmenttoconservationbeforeit
startedtolookasif heneededhelpcon-
servinghisownjob.Dainesparriedby
citingBullock’sslightmovestothelefton
gunrightsduringhispresidentialcam-
paign.Lastyearthegovernorvoicedsup-
portforuniversalbackgroundchecks
anda ban oncertain high-powered
weapons—centristproposalsthatare
broadlypopularona nationallevelbut
a muchtoughersellinMontana.Bullock
saidthatthosepositionsdon’tmakehim
anylessofa SecondAmendmentsup-
porterandthatwhileheseesgunvio-
lenceasa public-healthissue,he’sstood
upto“Washington Democrats” to defend
gunrights.
Theotherbigissuewashealthcare.
Besidesthepublicoption,Bullocksup-
portsusingthefederalgovernment’s
purchasing power to negotiate
cheaper prescription drug prices. TheDemocratic-ledHousepasseda billto
allowjustthatinDecember,butthe
Senatehasn’ttakenit up.Daines,whohas
a voteontheU.S.SenateCommitteeon
Finance,votedlastyeartocapMedicare’s
priceincreasesattherateofinflationand
limitseniors’out-of-pocketprescription
drugcoststo$3,100a year.Eventhough
hevotedwithhisRepublicancolleagues
torepealObamacare,Daineshasalso
saidhewantsa newlawtorestorepro-
tectionsforpreexistingconditions.
The candidates have two more
debatesbeforeElectionDay.Inthemean-
timethey’llbeholdingvirtualcampaign
eventswithsupporterswhileadsblitz
localTVstations.(Montananetworks
ranmorethan41,000Senatecampaign
adsfromJuly 15 toAug.9,morethan
inanyotherstate,sayresearchersat
WesleyanUniversity.)Theraceremains
a toss-up,butTrumpappearsalmostcer-
taintowinMontanabya muchsmaller
marginthanhedidin2016,whichlikely
meansBullockwillhavetosiphonfewer
Republican voters than he did in his lastgubernatorialbid,saysJessicaTaylor,
theSenateandgovernors editorfor
theCookPoliticalReport, a nonpartisan
newsletterthatanalyzeselections.In
Taylor’sview,Bullockhastheadvantage
whenit comestocurrentevents.“We’ve
seengovernorsgetmuchhighermarks
fortheirhandlingofcoronavirus than
Washingtonhas,”shesays.
Thisis Bullock’sfirsttimechallenging
a Republicanincumbent,andRepublican
politicshasbecomemuchmoretribalin
a shortperiodoftime,inwaysthatcould
wellvalidateDaines’syearsasa loyal
Trumpfootsoldier.If Bullocksqueaks
outa wina coupleofmonthsfromnow,
it’slikelythatnationalDemocratswill
behavinga goodnightinbellwethers
suchasArizonaandNorthCarolina.Yet
towincontroloftheSenatein2021—
andwithit thegoalpostsfortheWhite
House’sagenda,personnel,andjudi-
cialnominees—itmightnotbeenough
forDemocratstowinbellwethers.They
mightneedoutliers,too.<BW>�GregGiroux
is a reporter for Bloomberg Government○ TOXIC WATER FILLS THE BERKELEY PIT, AN ABANDONED OPEN-PIT COPPER MINE IN BUTTE