Community Conversations: Building Power in Montana

Holland Lake and the Swan Range in Northwest Montana. Holland Peak is the highest in the Swan Range, soaring to approximately 9,356 ft. Swan Peak is the range’s second tallest summit at around 9,289 ft. These two majestic peaks frame the eastern horizon of Holland Lake.

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Montana is an extraordinary place. We truly are the Treasure State.

I’ve spent the last few days hosting roundtables in Libby and Eureka. In the last week, I’ve visited Bigfork and met more folks from Big Sky to Missoula and from Seeley Lake to Whitefish. I’ve just traveled some of the most beautiful country on earth, winding through country roads, past high mountain lakes, surrounded by the spectacular wilderness of Northwest Montana.

Beneath the beauty, people are hurting. Jobs have disappeared. Housing prices have climbed far beyond wages. In Flathead County, the median home price has reached $560,000, while the median income remains $65,000. Many are spending way more than 30 percent of their income just to stay housed. We now rank as the least affordable place in the country to live and this is not sustainable.

I hear it at every stop: People are worried about the chaos unfolding in Washington. They wake up every day asking what Donald Trump is doing.

They need to ask what Daines is NOT doing.

While Trump weaponizes governmental power against citizens, Daines stays silent. He does nothing for Montana. He doesn't show up anywhere, not even for his own party.

While communities struggle, our own Democratic party keeps failing to meet the moment. We suffer loss after loss, clinging to the same failed strategies, chasing the same voters and writing off entire parts of this state. Consultants say rural Montana is too hard. Donors say it's not worth it. Both parties say they'll get to these voters later.

People are being left behind.

I’m gaining ground back, one community at a time. In the past months, we’ve been in over 40 counties and we're scheduled for more. My goal is to reach every single Montanan face to face. Leadership is about showing up, listening and organizing, not waiting for someone else to do it.

This is not politics as usual. We face an unprecedented threat to democracy and self-governance. Our republic is under attack as our Constitution, the foundation of our democracy, is twisted to serve tyranny. The danger is real.

The solution is not complicated. The only way forward is from the ground up, community by community.

People are joining us every day. We need more voices, more neighbors, more Montanans willing to stand up and fight. On June 14, we will stand up en masse across the country and then keep taking next steps: radical listening, registering voters, recruiting candidates for every office.

We rebuild from the grassroots. We show in our numbers our strength on the ground and we bring out the votes across Montana to flip our U.S. Senate seat in 2026.

Across Montana, people are ready. They ask what they can do. My answer is simple: Talk to your neighbors. Have the hard conversations. Stand up for your rights. Organize. Run for something.

We are Montanans. We are Americans. This is our fight and it starts now.

I'll be in Lewistown on June 14, standing up with Fergus County. Join us across the state and the nation on No Kings Day: https://nokings.org.