Q & A with the Candidates in Montana’s Race for Governor: 5 Candidates, 5 Questions - Find Out Their Answers Below

Find out where the candidates stand on issues important to you with the AARP Montana Voter Guide

AARP Montana is committed to helping you get the facts you need to choose candidates who reflect your values. We are non-partisan -- we don’t support or oppose political candidates or contribute money to campaigns or political action committees. We focus on the issues that are most important to Montanans 50 and over. Our priority is ensuring you know where the candidates stand before you cast your vote.

That’s why AARP Montana is providing the voter guides below to help Montanans learn as much about the candidates and their positions on the issues.

We posed five questions to each candidate and gave them 60 seconds to respond to each question. Republican candidates in the state’s race for Governor are Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, U.S. Congressman Greg Gianforte and State Senator and physician Al Olszewski. Democrat candidates are Lt. Governor Mike Cooney and businesswoman Whitney Williams.

Collaboration with Northern Broadcasting to air the Montana Voter Guide Statewide
AARP Montana collaborated with Montana radio broadcasting powerhouse, Northern Broadcasting, to bring you the AARP Gubernatorial Primary Voter Guide, which aired during the first week of May on the statewide Voices of Montana radio program. Click to listen to all five days of the AARP Radio Voter Guide: DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3, DAY 4, DAY 5.

“Candidates in Montana should pay attention to the concerns of the state’s most active voting group: 50-plus voters,” said Tim Summers, AARP Montana State Director. “History shows older voters turn out in force and AARP wants to make sure issues that are important to older voters are front and center – issue like fraud, the rising cost of prescription drugs, access to high speed internet, and how the candidates are planning for the growing aging population in Montana.”

This year, all voting in the Primary election will take place using Montana’s Absentee Ballot system. Primary election day is on June 2, 2020, but voting begins on May 8. Registered voters will automatically receive ballots in the mail. To find out if you are registered, you can call your county election office or check the “My Voter” page on the Montana secretary of state’s website, at www.sosmt.gov.

Click on our AARP Voter Guides below to find out where the candidates for Montana governor stand on issues that are important to Montanans age 50 and over.

All five candidates answered all five questions. The questions we posed to candidates are as follows:

QUESTION 1: Please tell us why you’re running for Governor?

QUESTION 2: Consumers lose billions of dollars each year to online, financial, and other types of fraud and older adults are often the targets. What will you do to address fraud, ensure that Montanans are protected against fraud and deceptive or unfair business practices, and provide opportunities for redress to victims?

QUESTION 3: By 2040, there will be more people aged 60 and over than there are children – for the first time in history. As people live longer, healthier lives, we know we need to think differently about what it means to get older. Government policies need to adapt to meet changing needs of this growing population.

What steps will you take to update programs and policies to reflect these changes to ensure all Montanans have the opportunity to prosper in communities, achieve life-long health, and economic stability?

QUESTION 4: Broadband, or high-speed Internet service, should be available to everyone regardless of where they live. Broadband Internet access is especially important in rural communities to overcome isolation, improve access to health care, and to help local businesses prosper.

How will you ensure that Montanans have access to affordable, reliable, high speed Internet service, including those living in rural areas? What will you do to promote broadband expansion any quality improvements in Montana, especially in unserved and underserved communities?

QUESTION 5: With the rising cost of vital prescription drugs that many Montanans rely on, what steps do you plan to take to ensure that older people and their families have affordable access to these life-sustaining drugs?