Zinke, Tranel rematch in Western House district

President Joe Biden versus former President Donald Trump will not be the only rematch on Montana voters’ ballot this November. Tuesday’s primary cemented a long-expected rematch in the western Montana U.S. House district between Republican incumbent Rep. Ryan Zinke and Democrat Monica Tranel.

While Tranel ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, Zinke fended off a challenge from Kalispell pastor Mary Todd. Dennis Hayes of Townsend secured the Libertarian Party nomination, beating Bozeman resident Ernie Noble, who dropped out in April.

Zinke and Tranel previously faced off in 2022, the first time Montanans sent two representatives to the U.S. House in decades. In that race, Zinke bested Tranel by four points. While the district includes liberal havens like Missoula and Bozeman, conservative bastions like the Flathead and Bitterroot valleys serve as a counterbalance; the Cook Political Report says it’s “likely” that Republicans will keep the seat. However, compared to the eastern district, political observers say the right Democrat still has a shot at winning the seat. Tranel once again thinks she’s that candidate.

Tranel is a former Olympic rower and attorney who is perhaps best known for taking on Northwestern Energy, Montana’s main regulated utility. In the past, Tranel has fashioned herself as a centrist in hopes of appealing to voters across the political spectrum. In fact, 20 years ago she ran for a seat on the Public Service Commission in 2004 as a Republican. After that, she worked as legislative counsel for U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, the state’s longest-serving Republican senator. More than a decade later, in 2020, she ran again for the Public Service Commission, this time as a Democrat, but again fell short.

While Tranel failed to take down Zinke in 2022, she told Montana Free Press last year when she launched a second run for the House that she thought she had momentum coming into this race.

“I felt like [2022] was an awesome start,” she said. “We felt like we started something special. People across western Montana were super fired up about our campaign.”

Zinke is no stranger to Montana voters. He first came onto the political scene more than a decade ago as a Prius-driving Republican state senator from Whitefish with a moderate streak. In 2012, he unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor alongside Neil Livingstone. Two years later, he was elected to the U.S. House. Zinke was elected to a second term in 2016, but did not stay long after President Trump selected him to be secretary of the interior. Zinke made a splash in the Trump administration — he famously rode a horse to work on the first day — but he resigned less than two years later following a rash of ethics investigations. After a few years in the private sector, Zinke announced in June 2021 that he was going after his old job after redistricting gave the state a second House seat.

Since returning to the House, Zinke has occasionally dipped his toes into more controversial waters. Last year, he introduced legislation to expel Palestinians and earlier this year called for the deportation of a migrant family that ended up in Kalispell — but he’s also tried to revive his bipartisan bonafides by teaming up with Democrats on public lands issues.

But on Tuesday night, Zinke dismissed any aisle-crossing rhetoric and attacked Tranel on social issues frequently brought up by the most conservative voters — perhaps showing that the rematch between Zinke and Tranel will be anything but quiet.

“This race is about protecting our borders, our kids, our heritage and our paychecks,” Zinke wrote on X. “Monica Tranel is a trainwreck who wants boys in girls sports, men in women’s locker rooms, higher Biden taxes and more illegal immigrants. That ain’t Montana.”