Notes from Montana: Bozeman Demands Better

— April 27, 2025 —

Last week in Bozeman, we met with Montanans for another public community roundtable. Sometimes we host these events in living rooms, sometimes in coffee shops or community rooms. In Bozeman, a small group gathered in the back room of a pizza parlor near Montana State University, trading stories, frustrations, and visions for a better future.

The conversations were honest and raw.

Across backgrounds, we heard the same themes rising: people are frustrated with political parties that seem more interested in fighting each other than fighting for us. Many mentioned a deep sense that leadership is asleep at the switch while working families scramble to afford housing, healthcare, and basic necessities.

One participant — a 33-year-old union worker — put it plainly:

“We’re being gaslit by our own parties. They want us to believe this economy is fine while our neighbors are packing up and leaving because they can’t afford to live here anymore."

We talked about the realities people are facing — soaring housing costs, collapsing access to healthcare, the disappearance of local journalism, and the fear that Montana’s Main Streets and public lands are being sold out to the highest bidder.

One thing was crystal clear: the problem is more than bad leadership, it's leadership that's completely out of touch.

Sharp Critiques

This sentiment is not limited to Bozeman. Over the last months, we’ve held over two dozen roundtables in communities across Montana, from eastern ranch towns to university hubs. Again and again, we're hearing similar concerns: disconnection from party politics, frustration with political leadership that feels distant or defensive, and a longing for community and economic strength.

People speak openly about how both major political parties have failed them. They share anger at being treated like an afterthought by national leadership and express skepticism toward political messaging that seems designed more for television than for realities of Montana life.

There's an overwhelming feeling that the Democratic Party has become siloed in urban narratives, risk-averse when boldness is needed, and reactive instead of proactive. There was just as much disdain for the direction Republicans have gone: a party willing to use division and chaos as political tools, even as they leave working families with nothing to show for it.

It’s important to be clear: the people raising these concerns support democratic values.

They're showing up because they care. They want democracy to survive and thrive. Many have been newly activated by the threats of Trump’s authoritarianism and they're bringing sharp, honest critiques.

They want a real alternative, not just another echo of the same failures.

Broken Promises and Political Theatre

Meanwhile, Steve Daines was in Bozeman last week, too. What was he doing?

Celebrating a new Amazon shipping facility at the same time Trump’s trade wars are isolating us from global goods and supply chains.

We need leadership that stabilizes the economy, strengthens local business, and protects our ability to live and work here. It's not enough to bring in flashy developments if the foundation underneath—trade, supply chains, working wages, affordable housing—is crumbling.

What we are seeing from Daines is a pattern of neglect. While he chases Trump’s endorsement, he ignores the collapse unfolding in Montana, a collapse fueled by

Trump’s own policies

Essential services such as Social Security offices and veterans' clinics are closing. Public land protections are weakened. Trade policies are driving up costs for ranchers, farmers, and families. Wages are stagnant while housing prices skyrocket.

This is more than negligence. It’s deliberate sabotage of the very systems Montanans depend on, from healthcare to education to basic infrastructure.

Through it all, Daines and his allies stand on stages and declare victory for their billionaire donors.

While we gathered in Bozeman, listening to serious concerns about housing, healthcare, and the future of democracy, Steve Daines was a few miles away, cutting a ribbon for an Amazon warehouse that will struggle to thrive because of the very trade wars he helped enable.

A New Path Forward

People we speak with on the ground understand the stakes. They want leaders who show up, who listen, and who fight for Montana—not for party bosses, not for billionaires, and not for Donald Trump.

When I‘m elected to the United States Senate, my first priority will be to hold Donald Trump accountable to the U.S. Constitution and to the American people.

I will continue to offer clear, assertive Democratic visions for Montana’s future and be willing to challenge status quos without fear.

Montanans are about to lose their homes, their community identity, their access to the outdoors and economic security — unless they act. We can reclaim our communities by speaking out about belonging, local pride, and shared sacrifice rather than national partisan frames.

We will keep showing up. We will keep listening. We will keep organizing. Montanans are ready for leaders who work for them, not for themselves.

We have more roundtables scheduled across Montana next week. I’ll be in Great Falls on April 30 and Glendive on May 3 with more dates and events planned throughout May in Pray, Havre, Anaconda, Billings and more.

Across the state, voters tell me they're tired of being talked at instead of listened to. They're tired of flashy slogans that don't match their lived reality. They're tired of political fights in Washington that have nothing to do with the struggles facing families here at home.

We're building something stronger, community by community, conversation by conversation. Together, we're going to move Montana forward, protecting the values that make this place home.