Four Candidates Announced For House Seat
So far, four individuals have announced their intentions to run for the new U.S. House of Representatives’ seat in Montana.
The position resulted after the U.S. Census Bureau showed that the state’s increase in population was enough add a second seat. U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, is currently the state’s lone U.S. representative. The boundaries for the new seat is yet to be determined.
Democrats Laurie Bishop and Monica Tranel have each said they are planning to seek the position.
Bishop of Livingston has represented House District 60 in the Montana Legislature since 2016. She is the director of the Montana Afterschool Alliance.
Tranel of Missoula won a primary election for Public Service Commission last year but lost in the general election. She has served as the PSC staff attorney and on the state’s consumer counsel. She competed in five World Rowing Championships and two Olympics.
Republicans announcing their candidacy are Al Olszewski and Ryan Zinke.
Olszewski is a former state legislator from Kalispell and a surgeon. His background includes unsuccessful primary campaigns for governor and the U.S. Senate.
Olszewski spent six years in the state Legislature in both the House and Senate.
Zinke served as a state senator from 2009-2013 and then was elected as Montana’s U.S. representative in 2014 and in 2016. He was then appointed as Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
