Congressional races in Montana are heating up. Brian
Schweitzer, the Democrats’ maverick Senate candidate, is still well
behind two-term Republican incumbent Conrad Burns, but he’s made
some small gains in recent polls. Schweitzer, a mint farmer from
Whitefish, defends small-scale agriculture and criticizes rising
health-care costs. Over the last year, he has shepherded busloads
of Montana senior citizens to Canada and Mexico to pick up cheaper
prescription drugs across the
border.
3
Republican Rep. Rick
Hill will soon retire from Montana’s only House seat, and the race
to replace him is close. The contest between Democrat Nancy Keenan
and Republican Dennis Rehberg is attracting some national
attention, since a Democratic victory could affect the balance of
power in the House.
3
Idaho
residents are conscientious voters, but they might not be as
enthusiastic this year. Almost half of the state Legislature races
are uncontested; Republican Lt. Gov. Butch Otter is considered a
shoo-in for Helen Chenoweth-Hage’s House seat; and Idaho hasn’t
voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. “It will
be potentially one of the most boring elections we’ve had in our
history,” Boise State University political scientist Jim Weatherby
told the Idaho
Statesman.
3
Things look a bit
more exciting in Washington state, where two Democrats are battling
for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Slade Gorton.
In their first televised debate on Sept. 10, state insurance
commissioner Deborah Senn and former U.S. representative and
high-tech executive Maria Cantwell spent most of the time attacking
Gorton. Though their positions on the Snake River dams (HCN,
12/20/99) have been unclear in the past, both Senn and Cantwell
stated their opposition to
breaching.
3
Oregonians are
well known for bickering over ballot initiatives, and this year is
no exception. Measure 7, championed by Bill Sizemore of Oregon
Taxpayers United, requires compensation for landowners when laws
and regulations reduce the value of their property. Oregon
officials say the initiative could cost state and local governments
almost $4 billion a year.
* Michelle
Nijhuis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline On the trail.
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