The Story:
The field was already an unprecedentedly crowded one: so, what’s one candidate more? On Tuesday, May 14, Governor Steve Bullock of Montana announced that he is running for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States.
Background:
Bullock was first elected Governor of Montana in 2012, in a year when the incumbent Governor could not seek re-election due to term limits. Bullock defeated Republican candidate Rick Hill (and Libertarian Ron Vandevender) but was elected with less than a majority of the vote, 48.9%.
Bullock was re-elected in 2016 with a majority, but only just … he received 50.3% of the vote. There was this time no significant third-party candidate. A Libertarian candidate, Ted Dunlap, had declared his candidacy but subsequently withdrawn it. The Republican, Greg Gianforte, received 46.3%.
A survey in September 2016 showed Bullock to be the single most popular Democratic Governor in the United States.
The Thing to Know:
On the issue of health insurance, which looks likely to be a major flashpoint in the primary campaign, Bullock has not joined calls for a single-payer or “Medicare for all” system, but he has criticized President Trump for working to “destabilize” the existing (Obamacare) system, and he favors a “public option” to plug gaps in that system.
