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| Steve Bullock, Montana Governor, Is Running for President | Steve Bullock, Montana Governor, Is Running for President |
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| Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, who was twice elected to lead a state that President Trump carried by more than 20 points, entered the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, vowing to elevate the issue of campaign finance and, more implicitly, to make Democrats competitive again across the country’s interior. | Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, who was twice elected to lead a state that President Trump carried by more than 20 points, entered the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, vowing to elevate the issue of campaign finance and, more implicitly, to make Democrats competitive again across the country’s interior. |
| “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone,” Mr. Bullock said in a video centered on his record in Republican-leaning Montana. | “We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people’s voice so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone,” Mr. Bullock said in a video centered on his record in Republican-leaning Montana. |
| He formally announced his campaign Tuesday afternoon at the high school he attended in Helena, Mont., and later this week he will spend three days in Iowa, the state where he is expected to put the most emphasis. | |
| The candidacy of Mr. Bullock, the 22nd Democrat to enter the presidential race, amounts to a test of whether there is space for a little-known governor from a lightly populated state in a presidential field dominated by high-profile candidates from the two coasts. | The candidacy of Mr. Bullock, the 22nd Democrat to enter the presidential race, amounts to a test of whether there is space for a little-known governor from a lightly populated state in a presidential field dominated by high-profile candidates from the two coasts. |
| [Find out where Steve Bullock stands on the issues.] | [Find out where Steve Bullock stands on the issues.] |
| A 53-year-old lawyer, Mr. Bullock made his name in Montana as a pragmatist who was able to win Republican support for liberal priorities like expanding Medicaid while burnishing his local credentials by protecting public lands. | A 53-year-old lawyer, Mr. Bullock made his name in Montana as a pragmatist who was able to win Republican support for liberal priorities like expanding Medicaid while burnishing his local credentials by protecting public lands. |
| He has also aggressively pushed for campaign finance regulations at a moment that Democrats are growing increasingly animated about the role of money in politics. And he signaled in his announcement that he would make it the centerpiece issue of his campaign, portraying a system “that serves campaign money” as the root of myriad policy failures. | He has also aggressively pushed for campaign finance regulations at a moment that Democrats are growing increasingly animated about the role of money in politics. And he signaled in his announcement that he would make it the centerpiece issue of his campaign, portraying a system “that serves campaign money” as the root of myriad policy failures. |
| “This is the fight of our time, it’s been the fight of my career,” he said. | “This is the fight of our time, it’s been the fight of my career,” he said. |
| Mr. Bullock has signed legislation in Montana imposing transparency requirements on nonprofit groups that take part in the state’s elections. And in 2018, he sued the Internal Revenue Service in an attempt to block a Trump administration mandate that would have stopped requiring political nonprofit groups to disclose their major donors. | Mr. Bullock has signed legislation in Montana imposing transparency requirements on nonprofit groups that take part in the state’s elections. And in 2018, he sued the Internal Revenue Service in an attempt to block a Trump administration mandate that would have stopped requiring political nonprofit groups to disclose their major donors. |
| The Montana governor appears to be highlighting political spending and public corruption in the same way his fellow western governor and presidential rival, Jay Inslee of Washington, is emphasizing the issue of climate change. By making it their signature political issue, they will, at least, draw attention to the issue and could propel their dark-horse candidacies. | The Montana governor appears to be highlighting political spending and public corruption in the same way his fellow western governor and presidential rival, Jay Inslee of Washington, is emphasizing the issue of climate change. By making it their signature political issue, they will, at least, draw attention to the issue and could propel their dark-horse candidacies. |
| [Check out our tracker of the 2020 Democratic candidate field.] | [Check out our tracker of the 2020 Democratic candidate field.] |
| But unlike Mr. Inslee, who governs in a liberal state, Mr. Bullock has made his political calling card that of a Democrat who has flourished in the rural West: He has been elected statewide three times, once for attorney general and twice in his bids for governor, each time in a year that his party’s presidential nominee was losing Montana. | But unlike Mr. Inslee, who governs in a liberal state, Mr. Bullock has made his political calling card that of a Democrat who has flourished in the rural West: He has been elected statewide three times, once for attorney general and twice in his bids for governor, each time in a year that his party’s presidential nominee was losing Montana. |
| “As a Democrat in a red state, I often spend days among crowds where there are almost no Democratic voters in sight,” he wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times in 2017, adding that his party “should try casting the fly line a little farther out into the river.” | “As a Democrat in a red state, I often spend days among crowds where there are almost no Democratic voters in sight,” he wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times in 2017, adding that his party “should try casting the fly line a little farther out into the river.” |
| In his video, which featured clips of him across Montana, Mr. Bullock did not make the case for his electability directly, but said, “As a Democratic governor of a state that Trump won by 20 points, I don’t have the luxury of just talking to people who agree with me.” | In his video, which featured clips of him across Montana, Mr. Bullock did not make the case for his electability directly, but said, “As a Democratic governor of a state that Trump won by 20 points, I don’t have the luxury of just talking to people who agree with me.” |
| Yet Mr. Bullock, who waited until his state’s legislative session ended to declare his presidential intentions, faces considerable challenges as he enters an already crowded Democratic field. He has little in the way of a fund-raising base, whether among wealthy donors or the party’s grass-roots base, and he could find it hard to break through the din at a time when celebrity and social media appeal have become central to presidential politics. | Yet Mr. Bullock, who waited until his state’s legislative session ended to declare his presidential intentions, faces considerable challenges as he enters an already crowded Democratic field. He has little in the way of a fund-raising base, whether among wealthy donors or the party’s grass-roots base, and he could find it hard to break through the din at a time when celebrity and social media appeal have become central to presidential politics. |
| Mr. Bullock has repeatedly visited Iowa, and appears poised to have the support of the state’s long-serving Democratic attorney general, but has been there less often than some of his rivals, who have been in the race for months. | Mr. Bullock has repeatedly visited Iowa, and appears poised to have the support of the state’s long-serving Democratic attorney general, but has been there less often than some of his rivals, who have been in the race for months. |
| In addition to the structural impediments looming in his path, Mr. Bullock will also confront a challenge of his own making: the revelation that one of his former senior aides had been accused of sexually harassing several women. The aide, Kevin O’Brien, who worked for Mr. Bullock in Montana and in Washington when the governor ran the Democratic Governors Association, was fired from his role with the organization after an inquiry there revealed he had sexually harassed a female colleague. | In addition to the structural impediments looming in his path, Mr. Bullock will also confront a challenge of his own making: the revelation that one of his former senior aides had been accused of sexually harassing several women. The aide, Kevin O’Brien, who worked for Mr. Bullock in Montana and in Washington when the governor ran the Democratic Governors Association, was fired from his role with the organization after an inquiry there revealed he had sexually harassed a female colleague. |
| Mr. Bullock knew why Mr. O’Brien was terminated but did not intercede to stop Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York from hiring him just weeks after his dismissal from the governors’ organization. And Mr. O’Brien would eventually be forced to resign from the mayor’s office after two more women accused him of sexual harassment. | Mr. Bullock knew why Mr. O’Brien was terminated but did not intercede to stop Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York from hiring him just weeks after his dismissal from the governors’ organization. And Mr. O’Brien would eventually be forced to resign from the mayor’s office after two more women accused him of sexual harassment. |
| “I fell short in my role preventing sexual harassment,” Mr. Bullock conceded in February. “I’m sorry, and I’m committed to doing much better.” | “I fell short in my role preventing sexual harassment,” Mr. Bullock conceded in February. “I’m sorry, and I’m committed to doing much better.” |
| Some Democrats, in Washington and Montana, are still retaining hope that the governor may ultimately choose to run for the Senate instead of the presidency: Senator Steve Daines, a Republican, is facing his first re-election next year, and Mr. Bullock and Senator Jon Tester have proved that Democrats can win statewide in Montana, even in presidential election years. | Some Democrats, in Washington and Montana, are still retaining hope that the governor may ultimately choose to run for the Senate instead of the presidency: Senator Steve Daines, a Republican, is facing his first re-election next year, and Mr. Bullock and Senator Jon Tester have proved that Democrats can win statewide in Montana, even in presidential election years. |
| The governor, however, has repeatedly said he has no desire to run for the Senate and said this year that he had “ruled it out.” | The governor, however, has repeatedly said he has no desire to run for the Senate and said this year that he had “ruled it out.” |
| Were he to change his mind, Mr. Bullock may have imperiled his prospects for a Senate bid by coming out in favor of a ban on semiautomatic weapons; he took that stance in 2018 after presenting himself as a defender of gun rights during his campaigns for governor and attorney general. | Were he to change his mind, Mr. Bullock may have imperiled his prospects for a Senate bid by coming out in favor of a ban on semiautomatic weapons; he took that stance in 2018 after presenting himself as a defender of gun rights during his campaigns for governor and attorney general. |
| In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee alluded to the ballooning size of the field in attacking Mr. Bullock. | In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee alluded to the ballooning size of the field in attacking Mr. Bullock. |
| “Another day, another delusional Democrat running for president with no shot at winning,” the spokesman, Michael Ahrens, said. | “Another day, another delusional Democrat running for president with no shot at winning,” the spokesman, Michael Ahrens, said. |
| Monica Lindeen, the executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said it would remain neutral during the 2020 primaries, but added that “there’s no doubt Gov. Steve Bullock has been an effective governor for our state.” | Monica Lindeen, the executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said it would remain neutral during the 2020 primaries, but added that “there’s no doubt Gov. Steve Bullock has been an effective governor for our state.” |
| “He’s championed Montana priorities like affordable health care and getting dark and foreign money out of our elections, fought efforts to sell off our public lands and helped usher in an economic climate that’s helped Montana families thrive,” she said in a statement to The Times. | “He’s championed Montana priorities like affordable health care and getting dark and foreign money out of our elections, fought efforts to sell off our public lands and helped usher in an economic climate that’s helped Montana families thrive,” she said in a statement to The Times. |
| In his video on Tuesday, Mr. Bullock highlighted his biography as the son of a single mother, pointed to his progressive accomplishments and recalled how a century ago his state was politically notorious in ways he said still resonate. | In his video on Tuesday, Mr. Bullock highlighted his biography as the son of a single mother, pointed to his progressive accomplishments and recalled how a century ago his state was politically notorious in ways he said still resonate. |
| “With their money, they bought politicians, attacked unions, exploited workers and left us with a toxic reminder of what happens when our democracy is put up for sale,” Mr. Bullock said of Montana’s powerful copper magnates, as he stood over a polluted old mine in Butte. “Today we see evidence of a corrupt system all across America.” | “With their money, they bought politicians, attacked unions, exploited workers and left us with a toxic reminder of what happens when our democracy is put up for sale,” Mr. Bullock said of Montana’s powerful copper magnates, as he stood over a polluted old mine in Butte. “Today we see evidence of a corrupt system all across America.” |