Gov. Greg Gianforte and Ryan Busse. (Photos courtesy Governor’s Office, by Nicole Girten, Daily Montanan)
Debates between Montana’s candidates for governor could be back on for October after Gov. Greg Gianforte’s campaign manager said the Republican governor would be open to debating Democratic challenger Ryan Busse following Busse’s release of his tax returns to the Associated Press on Tuesday.
For the past week, the back-and-forth between the two campaigns over whether there will be a gubernatorial debate has heated up as the two sides accused one another of dodging a public debate.
On Aug. 27, Gianforte’s campaign manager Jake Eaton released a memo to certain news outlets saying Busse was “not a credible candidate,” saying Busse was well behind in polls, and saying a debate “would neither be informative nor advance the public interest.”
“The governor is prepared to debate a serious, credible Democratic candidate for governor, but unfortunately, there isn’t one,” Eaton wrote in the memo.
Busse’s campaign issued a news release in response, suggesting the governor was dodging any debates so he didn’t have to discuss his policy work during the past four years – especially surrounding the increase in property taxes.
“Not debating me is proof you’re in political hot water, and you know it. Your harebrained excuses are whiney, wimpy, and almost as embarrassing as your failure as governor,” Busse said in a statement at the time.
The Busse campaign had hoped to debate Gianforte on Aug. 12 at City Club of Missoula but said Gianforte had refused to participate. It hopes there will be two debates in October – one on Oct. 1 hosted by Montana Television Network and another on Oct. 7 hosted by Montana PBS, Lee Newspapers, and Yellowstone and Montana Public Radio.
During a recent interview with television station KECI, Gianforte specified that he believed Busse was not being transparent because he was not releasing his past decade of tax returns like he had, along with past governors.
“The first step to get a debate is we need a serious candidate who releases his tax return just like every other candidate has done, and then we can talk about scheduling a debate,” Gianforte said.
Busse’s campaign has criticized Gianforte for not being transparent or holding many public events to hear from constituents, while Gianforte’s has criticized Busse as being an underwhelming opponent not worthy of sharing a stage or engaging with.
After Gianforte’s statement about Busse needing to release his tax returns, his campaign released 10 years of them to the Associated Press under conditions they not be posted online because they contain private information, Busse campaign manager Aaron Murphy said Tuesday.
According to the AP, the returns show Busse and his wife Sara Swan-Busse earned about $260,000 a year from 2014 to 2023. Up to 2020, Kimber Manufacturing contributed the bulk of their income, which is the company Busse served as vice president for before leaving the firearms industry. Since then, according to the AP, most of their income came from Swan-Busse’s public relations firm.
The Daily Montanan and other news outlets have requested copies of the returns as well, which Murphy said the campaign was considering releasing on similar conditions that were required of the AP.
Eaton, Gianforte’s campaign manager, pointed the Daily Montanan to statements he provided the AP in response to Busse releasing his tax returns, saying Gianforte welcomed Busse “joining him on the transparency train.”
“As the governor made clear, now that Mr. Busse, after repeated prodding, released his tax returns, he welcomes a debate,” Eaton said in a statement to the AP.
Busse said requiring him to release his tax returns before engaging in a debate meant the Gianforte campaign was moving the goal posts so he didn’t have to defend his policies.
“Gianforte doesn’t want to have to explain why he’s so intent on weirdly getting between women and their doctors, or why he’s waged war on Montana’s public lands and wildlife,” Busse said.
Murphy said Tuesday afternoon the campaign believes Gianforte has agreed to attend both the Oct. 1 and 7 debates. Eaton declined to comment to the Daily Montanan when asked if that was the Gianforte campaign’s stance.
Kaiser Leib, the Libertarian candidate in the governor’s race, said Tuesday Busse’s campaign had spoken with him on Tuesday morning but had told him the Oct. 1 and 7 carry threshold requirements made by the news organizations in order for a candidate to be on stage that he had not yet met. But he said the Busse campaign was open to debating him and that he would debate Gianforte and Busse at any venue if another organization would sponsor an additional debate.
Murphy said the Busse campaign would welcome Leib to any debate and that it had “no problem” with him being involved.
“Ryan believes anybody whose name is on the ballot should be on the debate stage,” Murphy said.
Busse outraised Gianforte by about $170,000 from June 15 through Aug. 15, though Gianforte still has about $745,000 in cash compared to Busse’s $234,000 to end the period. Paul Pope, an associate professor of political science at Montana State University-Billings, said that showed Gianforte is “vulnerable” because people are donating to Busse to oppose Gianforte and his policies.
But Gianforte is also capable of self-funding his campaign; he spent $13.5 million of his own money between his unsuccessful run for governor in 2016 and his successful bid in 2020.
Two polls released this summer by the Montana Republican Party showed Gianforte leading Busse by 21 points in June and 19 points in August. But two polls this year have also shown that Gianforte has a neutral approval rating statewide.