Finally -- we have a candidate for OPI, and a very good one. Elaine Herman ran in a three-way race for state school superintendant in 2000, and although she carried 41% of the vote, came up short against Linda McCulloch.
Given that races for the head of OPI and the AG come with overwhelming institutional advantages for Democrats (the teachers' unions and trial lawyers' association provide a ready supply of candidates and the cash to support them,) this was no mean feat. She should be able to use the experience of running strong in that race to her advantage.
Her candidacy is great news for the Republican Party, since we need strong candidates in every statewide race. These "2nd tier" races never get the attention they deserve, and Montana Headlines is going to be paying attention to them as the campaign season goes along. Now if we could just find some conservative attorneys who would be willing to run for the Montana Supreme Court...
All in all, this is looking like a strong grassroots year for Montana Republicans. We have always known that the key to this year would be great candidates for state legislature and strong candidates for every "2nd tier" statewide office. That's how you rebuild a party from the ground up, especially in a year when the Baucus machine will be pouring millions of dollars of out-of-state money into the state on behalf of Democratic candidates.
We will have to win the hard way -- and every victory we achieve will be sweet indeed.
We look forward to hearing more about Herman and her campaign.
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