2 January 2019 — 1909 mst

MT SecST Corey Stapleton is not running for re-election

Given the job he’s doing at SecST — or the job he’s done on SecST, take your choice — that’s good. Instead, he’s running for governor — again. That’s not unexpected, and in certain quarters it’s good for a gut busting guffaw.

Stapleton has quite a history of gunning for statewide office. Six years ago, he finished a distant second to Rick Hill in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Two years later, he finished a fairly close second to Ryan Zinke in the Republican primary for U.S. Representative. In 2016, he ran unopposed for the Republican nomination for MT SecST, and beat Monica Lindeen, the termed out state auditor, now executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, 55.5 to 41.0 percent.

Stapleton is running on his record as SecST. That requires world class chutzpah considering his misadventures in that office.

Stapleton probably faces a contested, possibly crowded, primary. Attorney General Tim Fox is expected to run for governor. And a horse not so dark is Greg Gianforte, who’s won his last two elections and who might prefer being top dog in Montana to being a backbench puppy in the Republican minority in the U.S. House.

Ryan Zinke’s another possibility, but his record on public lands as Secretary of the Interior probably precludes much affection from Montana’s voters, who love public lands. I think he’ll sit this one out while he works through the investigations of which he’s the prime object of inquiry, paying his bills with stipends for serving on various advisory boards and boards of directors and occasionally drawing a draft beer at his Double Tap Inn if the inn is ever built.

Those are the big names. Names barely known, but belonging to Republican politicians and others with high self-regard, and equally big ambitions, may also appear on the 2020 primary ballot.