6 April 2019 — 1020 mdt

Kathleen Williams’ repeat run for the U.S. House is smart politics

Kathleen Williams announced yesterday that she’s making a second run for the U.S. House. She’s the first Democratic candidate for that office to mount successive campaigns since Pat Williams (no relation) retired from Congress in 1997.

Taking a second crack at Congress makes sense. Her political support network, including donors, remains largely intact; activating it will not require as much work as building it did. Lessons learned from her failed campaign — we usually learn more from things that go wrong than from things that go right by accident; from being lucky — can be applied.

She’s obviously the frontrunner for the nomination, which is also being sought by MT Rep. Tom Winter, a Democratic legislator from Missoula. It’s possible that Winter will change his mind and seek re-election to his legislative seat, but a contested primary would generate publicity and give her campaign apparatus a workout and tune-up. Those things would help Williams.

Tomorrow, she begins a seven-day, 11-stop, tour of Montana, that starts in Miles City and ends in Bozeman. She’ll be in Kalispell on Wednesday, 10 April.