Democrat Ronning faces tall odds in conservative U.S. House District 2

Facing three candidates in Montana's conservative new eastern congressional district, Democrat Penny Ronning knows she's in an uphill battle, one she promises to "fight like hell" to win.

Raised in Billings, where her father ran a diner and her mother worked for the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, she credits her working-class roots and her mother's example of government service for her candidacy.

"What inspired me to run for this race was my mom was a career federal employee," she said in an interview. "My mom taught me the love and respect for government. I've seen that respect for the government deteriorate under the attempted leadership by current representation."

Ronning, a former member of the Billings City Council, won the new district's Democratic primary in June, earning the right to challenge Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale. The race also includes Billings financial adviser Gary Buchanan, who's running as an independent, and Libertarian attorney Sam Rankin.

Ronning draws much of her political beliefs from growing up in a bipartisan household. "We didn't talk about parties; we talked about people. We talked about candidates and the issues that stood out to us in our family. That's how I was taught to vote," Ronning said.

A first-generation college graduate, Ronning has a bachelor's degree in film from Montana State University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Mary. She has helped raise funds for nonprofits promoting the arts and presided over a downtown business group in Livingston.

In 2016, she founded the Yellowstone County Area Human Trafficking Taskforce, the largest task force in the state of its kind. She's lobbied the state's congressional delegation on behalf of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and promoted related legislation.

But her political education came as a member of the Billings City Council. It was there, she said, that she learned to understand the role played by the state and federal government and the need to work with members of other parties. She points to collaborations with both Montana's Democratic and Republican senators.

Still, she's not shy in her criticism of Congressman Rosendale. Ronning rejects his blanket opposition to abortion and said he needs to do more to improve health care, fight climate change and boost agriculture. She says she supports the Second Amendment, "common sense" gun laws, and mental health funding. She favors forgiveness for student debt and wants the federal government to legalize marijuana.

Beyond the issues, the race has posed some unexpected blows for her campaign, the biggest of which was the late candidacy of independent Gary Buchanan, whose background includes service for both Democratic and Republican governors in the '80s and '90s. He also won endorsements from the Montana Federation of Public Employees and the Montana AFL-CIO.

The MFPE's Amanda Curtis, a former Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, said the union's decision came down to Buchanan's experience in government. "It really was not intended to be an anti-Penny Ronning endorsement. Our members compared the two candidates and chose their favorite."

Ronning said the decision felt like a "gut punch" considering labor's support for Democratic candidates in years past. Her biggest disappointment was Buchanan's entry into the race.

"I personally think Gary Buchanan is one of the most dangerous individuals right now running in Montana," she said. "And the reason I say that is I think his campaign is working to destroy the Democratic Party. He's working to split something that I believe stands for good in our state."

Jeremy Johnson, a political scientist and professor at Carroll College, said it's likely that Buchanan will attract some Democratic voters who feel a Democrat has little chance of winning in the eastern district.

As the sole woman in the campaign, Ronning said she's had to work harder than her male counterparts. Fundraising has been especially difficult. With no backing from the national Democratic Party, the focus has been on small donors.

As of late June, Ronning had raised a little more than $63,000, compared to Buchanan's $127,000, both a far cry from Rosendale's $1.74 million, with a bit more than $1 million left to spend in the campaign.

"This is not going to be one of those multimillion-dollar campaigns," she said. "We are a state that's a little over a million people. Campaigns should not cost over a million dollars here. That's buying votes."

Meanwhile, Ronning keeps running. A recent Facebook post before a televised debate in Great Falls revealed the rigors – and windshield time – involved in campaigning across a huge stretch of the state.

"Billings to Fort Belknap to Havre to Rocky Boy to Helena to Havre to Fort Belknap to Billings in the past 72 hours," she wrote. "Out the door now to Great Falls for the debate tonight."