Welcome! Today’s dose of common sense starts right here:

• Montana Campaign News
  • MT Senate District 12
  • Campaign Mailers Update
• Transparent Election Initiative
• Drug Use By State
• Gas Prices & War Cost
• One More Thing

2026 MONTANA CAMPAIGN NEWS:

MT Senate District 12…

The GOP primary in Montana Senate District 12 between George Nikolakakos and Randy Pinocci is getting interesting and nasty. 

If you are watching local television in Great Falls between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m., you might see a campaign commercial from Nikolakakos saying that Pinocci is unfit for public service because of felony witness tampering, a disorderly conduct charge, and sleeping on the job. The ad shows a mugshot of Pinocci.

I have not been able to find the video, so if you see it, send me the link. 

There are also mailers from Conservatives4MT PAC saying the same things. 

A group called “School Freedom Fund” has a mailer saying that Nikolakakos is “Radical,” “Liberal,” and “Too Dangerous for our Kids and wrong for Montana.”  Another mailer accuses Nikolakakos of voting for liberal DEI, putting our children in danger, and sex changes for minors. 

The next month is going to be fun!   

Campaign Mailers Update…

For new readers, I keep track of the campaign literature received during the campaign season. Some of the better mailers get shown on The Western Word. 

So far this primary campaign season, I have received 23 campaign mailers. 

That is through Wednesday (April 29).

One interesting piece of campaign literature was received from Troy Downing. His campaign sent a four-page letter in a business-size envelope with the following message on the envelope: 

“Socialists have Great Falls in their sights and I need your help to fight back today!” 

Good grief. Sending a letter is not the best way to get your message out. 

By the way, please make sure you save your mailers and recycle them! 

TRANSPARENT ELECTION INITIATIVE:

Great news! The Transparent Election Initiative (TEI) recently announced that Pete Buttigieg has endorsed The Montana Plan, a first-in-the-nation, grassroots effort to rein in corporate political spending through Initiative I-194, a 2026 ballot measure in Montana.

As part of his endorsement, Buttigieg will travel to Butte on May 17 for a public town hall focused on the influence of money in politics and a future where government and elected leaders are more accountable to the people than to special interests. Buttigieg joins a growing, bipartisan coalition of national reform leaders backing TEI’s work in Montana.

Check out the full announcement (+video) HERE. 

DRUG USE BY STATE:

From my friends at WalletHub…

With National Prevention Week around the corner and the U.S. having spent over a trillion dollars on the “war on drugs” since the 1970s, the personal-finance company WalletHub released its report on the “States with the Biggest Drug Problems” to highlight the areas that stand to be most affected by drug addictions.

This study compares the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of 20 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescription use and employee drug testing laws.

Montana has a major problem: we’re ranked 13th. Attorney General Knudsen should be spending his time and our tax dollars fighting the drug epidemic instead of picking fights with cities over their local resolutions.

See the complete report from WalletHub HERE. 

GAS PRICES & WAR COST:

In case you missed it, AAA is reporting that gas prices in Montana just hit an average of $4.03. The national average is $4.33. (Source)

Thank you, President Trump!

According to reporting from Military Times, Operation Epic Fury in Iran has cost American taxpayers roughly $25 billion so far, the Pentagon’s chief financial officer revealed on Wednesday.

Acting comptroller Jules Hurst III, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said that the bulk of the figure has been devoted to ordnance.

There’s still no end date. 

Some experts say the cost does not include rebuilding bases/equipment hit by Iranian missiles, and that it could be twice that much.  

ONE MORE THING:

I’m not easily offended, but I am easily annoyed. 

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