According to the Montana Secretary of State’s website, there are 11 candidates running for Montana’s only U.S. House seat (At-Large).  There are seven Democrats, three Republicans, and one Libertarian candidate on the list (and a partridge in a pear tree).

Just kidding about the partridge…

Most political observers believe that Steve Daines is the presumptive nominee on Republican side, but those same people do not see a front-runner on the Democratic side – and we’re about a month away from the absentee ballots hitting mailboxes and about two months from the primary election on June 5. 

Needless to say, this is probably the Democrats’ best hope of winning the seat since former Congressman Pat Williams last run for re-election in 1994 (Williams won the 1994 race and retired in January 1997).  Steve Daines is not exactly a gregarious candidate whom everyone loves (and knows).  Some moderates tell me that Daines projects too much wealth, like Mitt Romney, for them to really like him enough to vote for him.  That’s good news for the other candidates.

The Democrats for U.S. House held another forum last night (this one in Butte, America), but it appears no one stood out from the rest of the field.  A story in the Montana Standard tells us, “There was more agreement than dissension Tuesday as seven candidates tried to separate themselves from a crowded Democratic field in the race for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat.”

They need an angle – the candidates need to find something that makes them stand out in the crowded field.  I heard that Senator Max Baucus walked across Montana campaigning (and it wasn’t because automobiles had not been invented) and Governor Brian Schweitzer had his light bulb-shaped balloon that he took with him to events to draw attention, and Senator Jon Tester had his flattop hair cut…and that darn tractor.

One of the Democratic candidates, Rob Stutz, is trying the angle of there’s too much “special interest” money in politics, and he does not accept any campaign money from special interest PACs.  Yesterday in a press release he said, “”We are looking for a Representative who will stand up to special interest groups, not a Representative who wants $2,500 to wine, dine, and rub elbows with special interest groups on Capitol Hill.”  He also says that Steve Daines “has accepted over $100,000 of special interest money through 2011.”

While Stutz may be trying something that has been done before, he’s at least forsaken special interest money from the get-go.  He’s not done it as a gimmick like Tester and Congressman Denny Rehberg did recently during their week of one-upmanship.  Tester and Rehberg have both been eating at the “special interest buffet” for years (and they have been elected while doing it).

So I applaud Stutz for his attempt, but I don’t know if this is the angle to get people to color in the box by his name during the June 5 primary.  We’ll see.

The good news for all the candidates is there’s still time to find that angle to separate them from the pack.  It will be fun to watch…

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