Montana Election Winners Comment on Talk Back

Wednesday was a special day for KGVO listeners to react to the red wave that swept over the U.S. and Montana during Tuesday’s General Election Day.

On the popular Talk Back show, the lines were jammed with listeners reacting to the election of Donald Trump, Tim Sheehy, Troy Downing, and James Brown, as well as the reelection of Congressman Ryan Zinke, Governor Greg Gianforte, and Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

Senator-Elect Tim Sheehy Spoke at His Victory Rally in Bozeman

Sheehy, at his victory celebration in Bozeman, provided this comment after defeating the three-term incumbent Senator Jon Tester.

“We cannot hand our children a bankrupt nation,” said Sheehy. “We cannot hand them a nation that no longer loves itself. We cannot hand them a nation with a wide open border on the precipice of World War Three. We have to hand them a strong America. We have to hand them an America they can have hope in. We have to hand them an America that they can be proud of.”

Governor Gianforte Spoke Directly to the Talk Back Audience

For his part, Greg Gianforte looked forward to solving the property tax problems facing Montana’s homeowners.

“We've got to do permanent property tax relief,” said Gianforte. “I think we can get the tax burden lower so that more people keep more of what they earn. My goal, as I said last night at the rally in Bozeman, our goal is to make the American dream more attainable for all Montanans, and I think that there's much more that we share in common than separates us.”

Montana’s Two Congressmen spoke to Talk Back Listeners

Congressman Ryan Zinke spoke of unfinished business in Montana’s smaller counties.

“Really, the counties are hurting on infrastructure,” said Zinke. “And just to name a few, you have the Noxon Bridge out there. You have no no sewer system in Seeley Lake. 100 bridges are needed out there, but a lot of the counties, you know, are scraping together nickels, and they had some challenges. It's hard to have affordable housing when you don't have a water or sewer system.”

Montana’s newest Congressman, Troy Downing was impressed with the efforts that Montana’s made to get out the vote, especially in rural areas.

“It warms my heart to see so many folks lining up in bad weather to the vote yesterday,” said Downing. “It really showed that people are paying attention again, and they want to take this country back. Of course, we got Trump across the finish line. We got Sheehy across the finish line. We got Zinke across the finish line. We got me across the finish line. I think the people have spoken, and I'm really, really excited to see that level of participation again.”

Attorney General Austin Knudsen said he looks forward to working with a friendly Trump administration.

“I think it's probably going to take President Trump a little bit of time to get his hands around that that monster in Washington DC, but I think we in Montana can look forward to a much more friendly administration,” said Knudsen. “I think you're going to see a lot fewer lawsuits out of my office against the feds, which is good. We can focus our attention on state issues. We can focus on crime and drugs.”

Montana’s new State Auditor and Insurance Commissioner James Brown looked forward to adding more accessibility to underserved Montanans.

“My number one goal is to get the agency out into Montana and make the agency more accessible for Montanans, particularly in rural parts of the state and on Native American reservations, so that people understand the consumer protection role of the agency,” he said.