Don't Mar-a-Lago our Montana

Greg Ginaforte understood what Raph Graybill and I did not: a wealthy guy like him could win in a highly polarized political cycle by simply magnifying the most divisive MAGA approaches and policies. We campaigned hard because we knew Gianforte would govern in the same manner, and we knew it would be wrong for the state we both love so much.

I guess you could say we wanted more for Montana while Gianforte wanted a lot more from Mar-a-Lago. I’ve resisted saying much about the election, but those of us who care about this state should be on the record about its governance. Gianforte is now delivering culture war stupidity and tax policy at the expense of struggling working people; the same toxic MAGA soup being cooked up at Donald Trump’s Florida mansion, and it’s bad for Montana.

Let’s start with Gianforte’s strange culture war. This week, he decided to spend time and resources on a video in which he taunted a broad coalition of Montanans who supported a popular bipartisan bill that phased out Styrofoam packaging in restaurants.

House Bill 477, sponsored by Democrat Marilyn Marler, had more than 60 Republican supporters, including Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, from Billings, a self-described “Make America Healthy Again Republican” who sponsored the bill in the Senate.

Citing the overwhelming science, he said, “I don’t think people realize the fact that it leaches into food,” Zolnikov told the Daily Montanan. “Change is hard, but children have these chemicals leaching into their food, and we just know more about that than we used to. It seemed like a logical thing since we’ve realized how unhealthy it is.”¹

But all of that sciency and healthy stuff did not impress MAGA Greg. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to post this veto video weirdness (no - it’s not an SNL spoof - he really posted this):

govgianforte

A post shared by @govgianforte

Now let’s move on to Gianforte’s long-held mission to do everything possible to make the state into a haven for wealthy people like him, the Wilks brothers, and Rupert Murdoch. He’ll do just about anything for them, as witnessed by Gianforte and his lobbyists killing HB907, a wildlife bill reversing the Gianforte “bulls for billionaires” policy that gives those wealthy out-of-staters special access to our elk.

Gianforte governs for those Billionaires, attracting more Amazon warehouses, and keeping just enough struggling people around to service them. He’s moved closer to his goals by demanding passage of this session’s tax cut that gives the top 20% of taxpayers more than 64% of the benefit and largely leaves working people with crumbs.

I spoke to thousands of Montanans during the campaign, and not one said that lowering top income tax rates should be a priority. I don’t like paying taxes any more than anyone else, but we cannot keep cutting for some while the cost of living burden on most people continues to increase. Senate leader Pat Flowers made the same point in opposing the bill, “It doesn’t target the Montanans who actually need it, who are the lower- and middle-income Montanans.”²

Gianforte celebrating cutting top income tax rates

Everyone, including Gianforte, knows that much of the economic stress on working Montanans comes from housing costs. Rents in Bozeman, where Gianforte lives, remain at record highs of more than $2400 a month. That's 4% higher than Los Angeles! Ask any teacher, mechanic, carpenter, or nurse; this is an unsustainable situation for average working Montanans.

Zillow Rent comparison between Bozeman and Los Angeles

And yet, even with the obvious housing affordability crisis in his backyard, Gianforte made sure that his majority killed four Democratic bills in this session that would have reduced the rent and property tax burden on working people, including one that provided an income tax credit for renters who make less than $45,000 per year.

Gianforte also made sure that a bipartisan bill to cleanly adjust property tax rates, just like previous governors have done in situations like this, did not make it out of the Senate. In the end, some property tax relief is coming, but it’s complex, insufficient, and involves the same opt-in rebates Raph and I promised never to let happen again. I’d not be surprised if voters demand more fixes in the next session.

On top of it all, I’d not be surprised if we also soon face a national recession caused by Greg’s Mar-A-Lago benefactor who clearly does not give a damn if he wrecks the economy and hurts working people. And if it happens, no one should be surprised if voters become even angrier.

But even if the worst happens, Greg will be just fine with his self-engineered tax breaks, agriculture property tax exemptions, and millions in low-taxed passive income. It will be the working folks getting screwed by his governance who will bear the brunt. When that happens and more people start saying, “The system is rigged against us,” they will be right.

1. https://dailymontanan.com/2025/05/06/stryofoaming-at-the-mouth-montana-governor-vetoes-bill-that-would-phase-out-use-in-food-industry/

2. https://montanafreepress.org/2025/04/23/major-income-tax-cut-heads-to-the-governors-desk/