Juneau says Zinke-Trump controversy helping her

Denise Juneau said Republican Ryan Zinke’s continued support of Donald Trump is helping her in the race for Congress.

Juneau, a Democrat, is challenging Republican Zinke for Montana’s lone congressional seat. Trump, the GOP candidate for president, recently bragged about grabbing women on a videotape from 2005.

Zinke condemned Trump’s comments, but still supports Trump for president.

“The language is shocking and wrong, and should never be used, ever,” Zinke said in a statement earlier this month. “My wife, Lola, and I have talked about it, and we pray he (Trump) has grown from his mistake.”

Meanwhile, Juneau said it has helped her campaign.

Trump aside, she said the main concern among voters is the economy and jobs. She said she hopes to foster an economy in Montana that has a skilled workforce. She noted her work at Superintendent of Public Schools and the innovative programs like Graduation Matters that has boosted graduation rates across the state.

Speaking to local issues, Juneau said she supported the Superfund designation for the idled Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant.

“I think it’s a good one,” she said. “It holds the company responsible.”

She noted that when she sat on the state land board, the state sold 40 million board feet of timber annually and kept 4,000 people in timber jobs.

On a federal level, she said the government has to separate firefighting costs from the Forest Service budget, so it has the funding to do timber projects. Currently, about half of the Forest Service budget is spent on firefighting annually.

As far as Zinke’s stance of Trump, she was highly critical.

“He looks out for what’s best for himself,” she said. “Not what’s best for Montana.”

A recent Lee Montana Newspaper poll had Zinke leading 53 percent to 40 percent with 6 percent undecided and a margin of error of 3 percent.

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