9th Circuit Won’t Force Montana Ballot Change, Green Party Targets Jon Tester
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is not going to force Montana to add minor party candidates to the ballot before the special election coming up on May 25th. Green Party Candidate Thomas Breck is one of the candidates, along with independents Steve Kelly and Doug Campbell, who made the emergency appeal. Breck says after a ruling late Monday that the Ninth Circuit Court won’t look at the issue until it will be too late.
“They set all of the next processes to be after the special election, but it allowed the ballots to be printed, so essentially they have backburnered me, even though it was a bad rule in place, even though the federal courts in Montana said it was unconstitutional and unfair, they are still not going to allow me to participate in this election… I’m appalled.”
Now Breck says he is preparing to try to unseat Montana Senator Jon Tester.
“I will be running for congress, whether it be the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate. Jon Tester is not the representative that many Montanans think he is. If I don’t get this seat then I will be running for Jon Tester’s seat, he is owned by big pharma, and, you know, Betsy DeVoss’ brother, Blackwater, Hilltop… they are a huge funder of [Tester’s] campaign and his political organization.”
Breck says he is running as a write-in candidate in the special election, but says that type of campaign “statistically has zero chances of winning.” He says he is “furious” over the way the ballot issue was handled and that this will not be the last Montana has seen of the Green Party.