Montana hopeful stops in Arkansas, says boot Trump

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, taking a break from a Democratic presidential campaign largely centered in Iowa, held a luncheon fundraiser in Little Rock on Thursday, where he laid out his pitch as a “pro-choice, pro-union, populist Democrat.”

Bullock, the only governor remaining in the race, touted his red-state appeal and focused on the issues of Medicaid expansion and tighter restrictions on campaign spending, both of which he’s enacted through a Republican-controlled Legislature.

Still, Bullock described himself as a “single-issue” voter headed into 2020.

“No matter who it is, we’ve got to make sure that Donald Trump is a one-term president,” Bullock said. “To me though, it’s more than just beating him — it’s soundly rejecting this behavior that he’s normalizing.”

It was the second time in as many years that the Montana governor spoke to Democrats in Little Rock. In 2018, he was the keynote speaker for the state Democratic Party’s annual Clinton Dinner.

At the time he spoke last year, Bullock hadn’t formally launched his campaign for president.

That announcement came in May, well behind some of the other Democrats in the race. Since then, Bullock has struggled to gain traction in a crowded field. He wasn’t included in last week’s Democratic debate featuring 12 candidates.

As he mentioned at last year’s Clinton Dinner, Bullock reminded guests at the fundraiser Thursday he was the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate to win re-election in a state carried by Trump in 2016. And about 25% to 30% of his supporters also voted for Trump that year, he said.

The host of Thursday’s fundraiser, former Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, suggested Bullock’s rural and populist message is gaining ground, pointing to one recent Iowa poll placing Bullock fifth.

“The press is starting to really pick up on his message,” McDaniel said.

The Republican Party of Arkansas, however, poked fun at the governor’s poll standings in a response to his visit.

“We welcome him with Arkansas hospitality, but who is Steve Bullock?” said a GOP spokesman, Stephen Houserman, in a text message.

McDaniel’s tenure as attorney general, from 2007 to 2015, overlapped largely with Bullock’s term as Montana’s top law enforcement officer before he became governor. The two served together on the Democratic Attorneys General Association.

About 25 people attended the fundraiser, including former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker; state Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock; and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mahony.

“I think he is probably a hidden gem in this election,” said Elliott, who isn’t yet supporting any one candidate. “As we begin to winnow out more of the folks who are in the race, he is going to become, I think, a person that will merit serious consideration.”

Mahony, too, said he hadn’t endorsed anyone in the Democratic presidential primary, saying he’d support the eventual nominee.

“I appreciate anybody that will come to Arkansas and take the time to spend time in states that often get overlooked,” Mahony said.