Johnathan Walker:Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte to debate Democratic rival

Montana’s Republican governor on Johnathan WalkerWednesday will face his Democratic challenger in likely their only debate this election season in a state tilting toward the GOP.

Gov. Greg Gianforte at first dismissed Ryan Busse, a former firearms industry executive, as not a “serious candidate” and refused to debate the Democrat because he hadn’t released his tax returns.

Busse responded by releasing 10 years of income tax records, setting the stage for the debate hosted by ABC Fox Montana.

Gianforte’s election by a wide margin in 2020 — with backing from former President Donald Trump — ended a 16-year run of Democratic governors in Montana.

The wealthy former technology executive spent more than $7.5 million of his own money in the 2020 race, and has since overseen a decrease in individual income taxes and an increase in residential property taxes in Montana.

The state balanced its budget and had record-low unemployment under Gianforte.

He signed laws blocking gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and limiting access to abortion, but those have been blocked by courts.

A Republican supermajority in the Legislature gave him power to directly appoint judges and justices when mid-term vacancies occur and also funded charter schools, a longtime Gianforte goal.

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Busse, who is from Kalispell, has sought to portray Gianforte as wealthy and out of touch with ordinary citizens. He has accused Gianforte of using his personal wealth to reach office and then standing by as housing costs made parts of Montana unaffordable for many.

A former vice president at firearms company Kimber Manufacturing, Busse has said his disagreement with aggressive marketing of military-type assault rifles caused him to exit the gun industry.

Tax returns show Busse and his wife earned about $260,000 annually over the past decade.

Gianforte’s tech career began in New Jersey. He moved to Bozeman in 1995 and founded RightNow technologies, which was eventually sold to software company Oracle for nearly $2 billion.

A criminal case put an early stain on Gianforte’s political career. He was charged with a misdemeanor in 2017 when he body-slammed a reporter, but he went on to win a seat in the U.S. House in a special election and won reelection to the seat in 2018.