Family: Married with three daughters.
Occupation: Two-time Olympian, attorney focusing on land use, water rights, regulatory work, and representing clients across Montana.
Education: Billings Central Catholic High School, Gonzaga University, Law Degree from Rutgers University–Camden
Contact information for voters: info@monicatranel.com
1. Montana must lead the energy transition. I support two existing laws:
â– The Farm Bill, investing in Montana’s agriculture, lands, and forests
â– The Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Act, funding forest management, water storage, and energy investment, including projects like St. Mary’s Canal and the bridge in Noxon. I would introduce my own bills that focus on:
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â– Enhance grid systems: protect our energy supply and keep our energy infrastructure sustainable, reliable, and secure.
â– Housing: making sure Montanans are safe and have a place to live. I have a housing plan that will keep Montana affordable so all our families can live here. 2. Becoming a parent is a private decision that we must be free to make without interference from the government. No one needs to abandon deeply held beliefs, but the decision about having a child is not the government’s to make, and certainly not Ryan Zinke’s. I support privacy and freedom to decide whether we become parents, without government intrusion.
Consequences of extremism that Zinke supported are happening in Idaho, where the standard of care for a life-threatening miscarriage is to transport out of state, at tremendous risk. No doctor should face either saving a mother’s life or going to jail.
3. For all of us who run households, we balance our budgets by increasing income and reducing unnecessary spending. That is exactly what our country must do. We must ensure everyone pays their share and no one gets a free ride. We can reduce the national debt by making sure that corporate tax rates are fair and that enough money is coming in to cover the essential costs of government, defense, education, and infrastructure. Simultaneously, we need to hold those on the spending side accountable. We need to monitor government spending, eliminate waste and fraud, and remove any abuse of the system.
4. I have a plan to address the high costs of housing. The federal government can partner with local government, public and private sectors to make Montana a place families can afford. My plan is: 1) assess the data to meet the problem; 2) hold bad actors accountable, making sure houses are for people to live in, not assets in an investment portfolio; and, 3) address the affordability gap for the missing middle.
We can promote Community Land Trusts, keep private equity from buying up trailer parks, and make sure rent isn’t a function of algorithms set by Wall Street investors.
5. Yes. The United States must stand with our democratic allies. Providing aid to Ukraine and Israel aligns with our values and strategic interests. We must also address the humanitarian crisis. While Israel must have the ability to defend itself, especially with respect to Iran and its proxies, we must have a two-state solution to rebuild Gaza and to give the Palestinians security, self-determination, and dignity.
In addition, it’s critical that we ensure strong oversight and accountability for how taxpayer dollars are used, guaranteeing that our aid is effectively supporting the mission and the people it is intended to help.
Family: Wife: Lolita Zinke; sons: Wolfgang and Konrad Zinke; daughter: Jennifer
Occupation: United States Congressman for Montana’s First Congressional District
Education: Bachelor of Science in Geology: University of Oregon, Master’s in Business Administration: National University; Master’s of Science in Global Leadership: University of San Diego
Contact information for voters: ryanzinke.com
1. Montana also saw a cold snap with temperatures 20-to 60-degrees below zero last winter. Whether it’s 90 and sunny or 60-below zero Montanans need a reliable and affordable power grid that can only be achieved by utilizing Montana’s diverse energy resources. That means not following the Left’s plan to tear down dams, that means letting the Crow Tribe manage their resources and mine their coal, and harnessing all the other energy God has put under our feet and in our skies. As Secretary of the Interior and as Congressman I built a record of responsible energy development that led to record low fuel and power prices and led to record safety for on and off shore production. We became a net exporter of energy and used that energy to help our friends and keep our adversaries in line.
We are the greatest country in the world. Nobody can out-innovate or out-produce the US unless radical environmentalists like environmental lawyer Monica Tranel are pulling the strings. Her plan to ban fossil fuels and force a transition to all electric vehicles would literally leave Montanans to freeze.
2. I do not support a federal abortion ban and regardless of what my opponent says, it’s never been the case. She will lie and tell you what her DC strategists told her will win this race, but at the end of the day my record and my word is consistent. I personally am pro-life but understand restrictions should be put in place after the first trimester and that there are heartbreaking situations where exceptions should be made available such as rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. Monica Tranel on the other hand supports elective abortions up until the moment of birth and would not require emergency care for a baby who survives an abortion. Absolutely unthinkable. She will tell you that doesn’t happen —without denying it’s her position—and frankly that’s just incorrect. Practically speaking, I believe the best way to reduce abortions is to make birth control widely available and affordable so those difficult situations aren’t even faced in the first place. On the other end of the family planning issue, IVF makes the miracle of a family possible and should remain an option for parents.
3. It’s simple: You take out a loan you pay it back. You don’t spend what you don’t have. Two years of Democrat control in DC led to big government spending, trillions of dollars added to the debt, and record high interest rates and inflation. Bills like the slyly-named “Inflation Reduction Act” which Monica Tranel said was “awesome” and that she would vote for, increased federal spending by trillions and made bogus investments in Chinese technologies at the expense of America. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee I’ve voted to cut billions of dollars from federal budgets while funding core government functions and making investments in Montana where it counts the most. I cut wasteful and woke programs at the Departments of Defense, Education and Agriculture and increased funding at Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, And just as important as cutting spending is making sure Montana gets its fare share of tax dollars back. As a committee member I secured more than $35 million for Western Montana roads, bridges, senior homes and a youth center in Browning. Looking to fiscal year 2025, I have funding pending for more than $25,000,000 in water systems to support more housing, and additional funding for law enforcement and emergency services across the district. Not all government spending is bad spending so its important to root out the garbage and frivolity and make investments in core functions.
4. Household finances are tight right now and a lot of young people feel like the American Dream of home ownership is unrealistic. This is due to high inflation for gas, groceries and rent or high interest rates and building materials costs if the want to buy or build. Even a family of 3 with two good jobs can’t make ends meet in this housing crisis. The answer is not more government housing, it’s making the American Dream affordable again. I truly believe that folks who work in the community should be able to live there, which is why my family has provided affordable rental homes in Whitefish for the better part of 20 years. In Congress, I sponsored the HELPER Act to establish a new home loan program under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to make homeownership more accessible to K-12 school teachers, first responders, law enforcement officers, and other essential public servants by eliminating some of the barriers for first-time homebuyers including high down payments and monthly mortgage insurance premiums. Like a lot of you, I grew up in a trailer park. Trailers are quality homes and buyers shouldn’t be treated as second rate citizens if they seek federally backed mortgages through USDA, HUD or the VA. For folks who aren’t in a position to purchase a home and need a hand up, making sure those programs are viable and Montana gets its fair share is important. I worked with Montana Housing Authority to hold DC accountable and prevent HUD from swiping millions of dollars from Montana’s housing aid accounts helping keep hundreds of Montanans in their homes. Lastly, I’ve taken the time to investigate and invest in the root causes of the housing shortage. It’s not my family’s little vacation rental as Monica Tranel would lead you to believe. In most towns, like Seeley Lake, Lolo and Lakeside, it’s lack of infrastructure to support more building. I worked with County Commissioners and planners to identify four water infrastructure projects for federal funding. Once funded, the projects will build the necessary infrastructure to support additional housing in areas that need it most.
