GOP candidates for state offices court voters at Kalispell forum

GOP candidates for attorney general and state auditor made their cases to Flathead Republicans at a Thursday evening forum at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell.

Two Republican candidates are battling for the attorney general nomination: Jon Bennion, Montana’s chief deputy attorney general since 2013, and Austin Knudsen, Roosevelt County Attorney and former Montana Speaker of the House.

Three candidates are seeking the GOP nomination for state auditor: Troy Downing, an Afghanistan War veteran and entrepreneur; Nelly Nicol, a private insurer; and Scott “Tux” Tuxbury, an insurance underwriter and member of the Montana Insurance Guarantee Association Board of Directors.

Bennion, who received the endorsement of current Attorney General Tim Fox, touted his experience working in the Montana Department of Justice.

“This is a critically important job,” Bennion said. “The attorney general is crucial to provide leadership on public-safety issues.”

He addressed Montana’s substance-abuse crisis, saying there is a dire need for more drug-treatment courts. He said Flathead County only has one drug-treatment court, far below what its population requires.

Bennion said he would help develop a stronger prevention strategy, explaining while there are prevention efforts there is no coherent strategy for preventing substance-use among Montanans.

“I see prevention as one of the key aspects of keeping people out of the criminal-justice system,” he said, “and I will lead the effort when it comes to preventing addiction.”

Bennion also addressed the issue of what he called “government overreach,” and said he during his first four years with the Montana Department of Justice he worked with other conservative attorneys general to be “a check-and-balance on the Obama administration.”

Knudsen said his combination of small-business experience and time in the Montana Legislature made him the most qualified candidate.

“I had five years with my own small law firm, my own small business ... my name on the door, my name on the letterhead,” Knudsen said. “Dealing with farmers, ranchers, small businesses … the people who make up the backbone of Montana.”

Knudsen was elected to the Montana House four times, serving from 2011 to 2019, and was Speaker of the House for the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions.

“I think that’s a testament to the leadership ability that I possess,” he said, adding that House Republicans “chose me to be their leader because they knew I was a strong, aggressive, conservative voice.”

Knudsen emphasized the “tremendous violent crime and drug problem” in Montana and said he is uniquely qualified to tackle the problem being the only prosecutor in the race.

“I’m often told that I seem angry. That I seem very serious,” Knudsen said. “And that’s because I am angry, and this is very serious.

“It’s not enough that we elect a nice guy. You have to elect someone to the attorney general’s office who’s dealt with this problem head-on,” he added.

In the question-and-answer session, the candidates generally agreed on most issues, but had contrasting answers to a question about the Montana Water Rights Protection Act.

Knudsen said when the original version of the compact, the CSKT Water Compact, came to the Montana Legislature in 2013, he opposed it. The Montana Legislature ratified the compact in 2015.

“I opposed it on legal grounds. I opposed it on constitutional grounds,” Knudsen said. “I led the conservatives in the legislature in opposing it ... I think there are still some serious problems with it.”

Bennion said even if it is not perfect, a water compact is better for the state than litigation and going through the courts over water rights.

“We made an effort to try and improve it,” he said, pointing out Montana Sen. Steve Daines’ efforts to get the compact approved at the national level.

“The attorney general has a duty to defend state law. And regardless of whether it’s me or him, we will have that duty,” Bennion said.

In the race for state auditor, Nicol emphasized her “20 years of insurance experience” and said “I love insurance but do not like the bite it takes out of the budget every single month.”

She said she helped start up a workers compensation company in Miles City and had lowered workers compensation rates by 60% since 2007.

“That is what competition does for our state … we need our state to be more business-friendly,” Nicol said.

Downing called on his many years of business and entrepreneurship experience. He said he learned securities and insurance are “very complicated” and highly regulated industries after starting a tenant-insurance program while owning and operating self-storage facilities.

“I think it’s really interesting that somebody would run for this office that doesn’t have some background in those industries and understands how they work,” he said.

“This is ultimately a consumer-protection agency,” Downing said. “Let’s allow businesses to thrive … and let’s make sure we come down hard on bad actors.”

He also touched on the State Auditor’s seat on the Montana Land Board. He said not many people understand the importance of the Land Board, which oversees Montana’s trust lands to help fund Montana schools and institutions.

“That’s supporting the backbone of our economy,” Downing said. “Let’s truly be stewards of the land.”

Tuxbury touted his experience owning and operating an underwriting business in Missoula since 1992.

“What we did as a business was to do what the auditor’s job should do, which is to bring in insurance companies into Montana for small consumers,” he said. But he added it can be a struggle to get insurance companies to do business in Montana.

“They don’t want to do business here,” he said, “and that frustrates me every single day.”

“I’m somebody who’s been doing this for 37 years … this wouldn’t be a jump for me, this would be just a little step,” Tuxbury said.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com