Zinke considers run for U.S. House

Former state senator Ryan Zinke, of Whitefish, announced Oct. 14 that he has formed an exploratory committee as he considers a 2014 run for the U.S. House of Representatives.

It’s expected that Rep. Steve Daines will run next year for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Max Baucus, opening up Montana’s lone U.S. House seat. Baucus has announced he won’t run again.

“All too often, we’ve seen our government divided — just look at the recent government shutdown and the impasse between Republicans and Democrats,” Zinke, a Republican, said in a press release. “Montana needs someone in Washington who can help to unite the parties, work toward common-sense solutions and restore our fundamental value of American exceptionalism.”

Raised in Whitefish, Zinke served as a U.S. Navy SEAL from 1985 to 2008 and retired as a Navy commander. He represented Columbia Falls and Whitefish for four years in the Montana Senate, beginning in 2008.

Zinke unsuccessfully ran for Montana lieutenant governor in the 2011 Republican primary with gubernatorial candidate Neil Livingstone.

Other Republicans reportedly planning to campaign for the U.S. House seat include former state Sen. Corey Stapleton, of Billings, Rep. Champ Edmunds, of Missoula, former Secretary of State Brad Johnson, of East Helena, and state Sen. Matt Rosendale, of Glendive.

The lone Democratic candidate so far is John Lewis, a former top aide to Sen. Baucus.