Montana’s Republican governor will meet his Democratic challenger on Wednesday in what is likely their only debate this election season in a state that leans toward the Republican Party.
Gov. Greg Gianforte initially rejected Ryan Busse, a former firearms industry executive for not being a “serious candidate” and refusing to debate the Democrat because he had not released his tax returns.
Busse responded further releasing 10 years of income tax datawhich set the stage for the debate hosted by ABC Fox Montana.
from Gianforte election by a wide margin in 2020 – with support from former President Donald Trump – ended a sixteen-year run of Democratic governors in Montana.
The wealthy former tech executive spent more than $7.5 million of his own money in the 2020 race and has since overseen a cut in individual income taxes and an increase in property taxes in Montana.
The state balanced its budget and experienced record low unemployment under Gianforte.
He signed laws blocking gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and restricting access to abortion, but they have been blocked by courts.
A Republican supermajority in the Legislature gave him the power to directly appoint judges and justices when interim vacancies arise, and also funded charter schools, a long-standing goal of Gianforte.
Busse, who is from Kalispell, has tried to portray Gianforte as wealthy and out of touch with ordinary citizens. He has accused Gianforte of using his personal wealth to reach office and then watching as housing costs made parts of Montana unaffordable for many.
Busse, a former vice president at firearms company Kimber Manufacturing, has said his disagreement with the aggressive marketing of military-style assault rifles caused him to leave the gun industry.
Tax returns show Busse and his wife earned about $260,000 annually over the past decade.
Gianforte’s engineering career began in New Jersey. He moved to Bozeman in 1995 and founded RightNow technologies, which was eventually sold to software company Oracle for nearly $2 billion.
A criminal case left an early mark on Gianforte’s political career. He was charged with a crime in 2017 when he hit a reporter with his bodybut he went on to win a seat in the U.S. House in a special election and was re-elected to the seat in 2018.