Montana Gov. Steve Bullock revealed on Sunday that he has absolutely ruled out launching a bid for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat in the likely event that his presidential campaign is unsuccessful.
“We’re going to have good [Senate] candidates in Montana. I know that not everybody knows everyone in Montana, but fine candidates,” Bullock told Alisyn Camerota during a CNN town hall. “But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we elect somebody to beat Steve Daines.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), a freshman senator, is up for re-election in 2020 and is already facing an increasingly crowded Democratic primary field. Three Democratic challengers have already announced their candidacy before the end of the summer, including Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins.
Interestingly, while Montana is considered a reliably red state — President Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points in the 2016 presidential election — both the governor and one of the U.S. senators in Montana are Democrats. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) was able to retain his seat for a third term after edging out his Republican challenger by nearly four points in 2018.
“For me, part of [my decision] is professional, meaning that my whole time that I’ve served as an executive I’ve been able to bring people together to get things done,” Bullock said. “I think that’s where my talents are best suited.”
“And part of it is political,” he continued. “We have to make sure that we can recapture the Senate.”
Bullock contended that while it is important for the Democratic Party to focus on the upcoming races in the 2020 election cycle, it is also necessary to analyze why Republicans were able to flip Senate seats red in states such as North Dakota and Indiana. He noted that it is also worthwhile to have a conversation on why former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) failed in his attempt to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in Texas.
“If we actually want to win some of these red and purple states, it might help to have somebody who has won in a red or purple state at the top of the ticket,” Bullock said.
“And then part of it also, to be honest, is personal,” he continued. “I still have young kids and I know that President [Barack] Obama actually had dinner with his kids a lot more than I would as a senator from Montana because I’d only see them on the weekends.”
While Bullock is a popular governor in Montana — he had a net approval rating of +26 during the first quarter of 2019 — he has been struggling to gain traction in his bid for the presidency. The presidential hopeful failed to qualify for the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) upcoming Democratic primary debates during the fall and his presidential campaign has less than one percent support on average.
“So that’s an absolute no?” Camerota pressed the Montana governor again.
“That’s an absolute no,” Bullock replied.