Greetings! Here are the topics for today’s common sense commentary:

• Montana Campaign News 
• Tuesday @ 8:00 pm
• Working From Home
• One More Thing

2026 MONTANA CAMPAIGN NEWS:

The poll. The poll…

The Ryan Busse for Congress campaign released the following poll results:

A newly released poll of 400 likely Democratic primary voters in Montana’s First Congressional District shows Ryan Busse leading the field by a decisive double-digit margin, further cementing his position as the clear frontrunner in the race.

The survey, conducted by Tulchin Research, finds Busse earning 35% of the vote, nearly matching the combined support of the rest of the field, and leading his closest opponent by 15 points. Busse maintains that advantage even after voters hear additional information about the candidates, demonstrating both the breadth and resilience of his support.

The poll also highlights Busse’s strong standing with voters across the district. He is the most widely recognized candidate in the race, with 75% name identification, and holds a commanding +51 favorability rating (63% favorable to 12% unfavorable), far exceeding the profiles of his opponents.

Busse’s 35% support places him well ahead of Russell Cleveland (20%), Sam Forstag (13%), and Matt Rains (5%), with 27% still undecided. There is significant room for Busse to expand his lead even further among voters who are increasingly focused on selecting the candidate best positioned to win the general election. 

Check out the complete press release HERE. 

Open Seat in SD 12…

Since I live in Senate District 12, I have been keeping close tabs on the race. It is an open seat. On the Republican side, George Nikolakakos, who is serving in the State House of Representatives, will be taking on Randy Pinocci, who is currently a member of the Public Service Commission. 

Pinocci seems to be the MAGA favorite. I’ve seen some attacks on Nikolakakos on social media from MAGAs. Pinocci has proclaimed, “I’m the senior RINO hunter,” in a recent interview. I suspect it will get nastier as we approach the June primary.

The Democratic primary in Senate District 12 is an odd one. Mindy Leach is one candidate, and the other candidate is James Whitaker, who I believe was once a Republican. The Montana Free Press reported on his history as a Republican HERE. 

It does not take a political scientist to see what is happening in SD 12. We’ll see if their scheme ends up working. 

Pop-Up Social Media…

Montana’s social media is becoming a graveyard of drive-by partisan accounts that only pop up during election years.  Don’t be fooled!

This is just a friendly reminder that The Western Word has been here since January 2005 and will be here long after the 2026 election season. 

You should subscribe to this blog (upper right corner of home page) and follow me on X @TheWesternWord, and like The Western Word Facebook page HERE. 

TUESDAY @ 8:00 PM: 

For planning purposes, President Donald Trump has set a deadline of Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET (April 7, 2026, 00:00 GMT) for Iran to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Posted on Truth Social, this “final deadline” acts as an ultimatum, with threats of destroying Iranian infrastructure if the waterway is not reopened. (Source)

That would be 6:00 p.m. here in Montana. I hope they don’t mess with Jeopardy! 

WORKING FROM HOME: 

With a large segment of the workforce working from home at least part of the time, the personal-finance company WalletHub recently released its report on the Best States for Working from Home, as well as expert commentary, showing where people can save the most money and be most comfortable while working remotely.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. 

Montana did not fare well in the report, coming in at #50. 

Check out the complete report from WalletHub HERE. 

ONE MORE THING:

Imagine blocking me and I never find out because I don’t care. 

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