Ryan Zinke doesn’t prioritize Montana

Following the 2020 Census, Montana was awarded a second congressional district due to its growth in population. This new district, drawn around the western half of the state, has led many significant names in Montana politics to run for the open seat, including former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke. 

In recent weeks, Zinke has found himself facing some controversy regarding his former position in the Trump administration. According to AP News, an investigation conducted by the Interior Department’s inspector general found that, while serving as the Interior Secretary, Zinke continued to work on a commercial project through a nonprofit in Whitefish despite committing to break ties with the project and foundation while in office.

The Zinke campaign responded with a statement that the report was a “political hit job” and that the development of this project has led to the restoration of land that has given local families and children a new park, as reported by AP. Zinke and his wife both declined interview requests from federal investigators who were examining the land deal. Zinke resigned from his position as secretary amid the ethics scandals and investigations.

This is not the only political issue Zinke has faced. According to Politico, Zinke and his wife often split time between Santa Barbara, California and Whitefish, raising questions even amongst his own party. Jennifer Fielder, a former Republican state senator was quoted by Politico as saying “I think it’s pretty obvious when you show up in March with a really killer tan that you haven’t been here for a long time.”

Partisan politics aside, this is most certainly not a good look for Zinke and his campaign. For a state that prides itself on it’s selfless, neighborly, yet independent nature, Zinke falls short in fitting the bill. Montana deserves representatives in Congress that are connected with the state, and who share the state’s common interest, and that’s not what Zinke brings to the table. Zinke has shown that his priority is his own success and his own interests.

With a history of ethics violations and using his own positions to his personal advantage, it seems fair to say that Montanans should look elsewhere for their next representative.Zinke was born in Bozeman and grew up in the state. Along with the fact that Zinke splits his time between Montana and California, which would strongly hinder his ability to be an effective and reasonable voice for Montanans in Washington D.C.