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Republican Montana U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Alme, twice a U.S. attorney during both Trump administrations and a prior federal prosecutor specializing in white-collar crime, stood firm for the Iran war during a campaign event at Willie’s Distillery in Ennis on Tuesday.

“I think our best way forward is to continue to support our president,” Alme said when the Chronicle, quoting Republican Montana U.S. 1st Congressional candidate Aaron Flint, asked him if the war needs to end.

For both Flint and Alme, Trump green-lighting the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli strike on Tehran didn’t start a war. Instead, Trump is ending pre-existing issues.

“They need to get this done once and for all,” Flint said on Monday.

Both Fint and Alme have a track record criticizing “forever wars” in the Middle East. Flint wouldn’t rule out a congressional halt of Trump involving the military in Iran in March, while Alme balked at the idea.

“Let me tell you this, I will never support our sons and daughters, boots on the ground in another country, in another foreign war,” Alme said on Monday. “Also, when our country is threatened by an enemy nation like the Iranian regime, with nuclear weapons, we have to respond.”

Experts view Iran as a threshold state. It has the industrial and scientific capacity to build a weapon in the future if leaders decide to, according to The Arms Control Association, a nonpartisan membership organization “promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies.”

“For 50 years the Iranian regime chanted death to America,” Alme said. “They’ve killed our citizens, service members. We cannot allow that nation to have nuclear weapons. We need to… continue to support our president as he gets us out of that conflict.”

Alme is running against Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead, a veteran Air Force commander and special agent; Libertarian Kyle Austin, a pharmacist; and cash flush independent Seth Bodnar, a former green beret, General Electric sales rep and University of Montana president.

Alme lingered on Bodnar.

“We have a Libertarian, a Democrat who won the primary and then we have a Democrat who’s been recruited to run as an independent,” Alme said.

Alme referenced prior pitches that the Democratic party is better positioned backing select moderate Republicans or independent candidates who can advance at least some of the party agenda.

“(Bodnar) is a very formidable candidate,” Alme said. “He’s certainly outraised us.”

Bodnar outpaces the candidate slate in fundraising. He raised roughly twice as much from individual contributions compared to Alme, according to Federal Election Committee reports from July.

The July quarterly reports, which cover from May 14 through the end of June, show Bodnar with $1.12 million, including $62,000 from political committees such as PACs. His campaign reported on-hand cash at less than $1 million.

Alme, who entered the race at the last minute after sitting Republican Senator Steve Daines announced his retirement, reported raising nearly $801,000, including $202,000 from political committees and $162,000 transferred from other committees at the time.

During the campaign event, Alme accused Bodnar of encouraging transgender participation in women’s sports and encouraging students to engage with a nonprofit advocating for defunding the police.

The Chronicle found no public evidence or record indicating these points.

Alme also said Bodnar supported diversity, equity and inclusion principals while he was at UM. Bodnar has stated that building a community that “seeks and celebrates diversity” were one of his primary focus areas.

Alme notably did not mention any of his other challengers with the same detail, other than listing them.

The Chronicle asked Alme if Bodnar is his chief focus with the amount of money he’s raised.

“We are just running our race,” Alme said. “No, we’re not paying attention to the other candidates. We’re not focusing on what they’re doing or how they’re spending. The reason I emphasized (Bodnar) is, as an independent, people don’t know him as well.”

Anti-inflation

Referencing inflation under the Biden administration, Alme emphasized the need to stop “reckless” spending.

“We need to reign that in so that we can lower inflation, bring down the cost of groceries and everything else,” Alme said, referencing his experience recovering money while prosecuting white collar crimes including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security fraud.

Low taxes

“If we can keep taxes low, hardworking Montanans can keep more of their paycheck in their pocket,” Alme said. “If we can also cut government regulations we can keep good paying jobs.”

As budget director under Governor Greg Gianforte, Alme said he assisted the first Montana Republican governor in 16 years with reducing the state’s budget by nearly $150 million in one of the largest tax cuts in state history.

“Back then… Montana had an 11% income tax rate,” Alme said. “It was a big reason not to come here. The governor let me spearhead what became the largest income tax reduction in state history. If I go back to Washington D.C., we’re gonna be trying to do the same things; control spending, keep taxes low, keep regulations low and see if we can’t bring down inflation, but also bring down mortgage and interest rates, and make life more affordable.”

Public safety

“In some parts of the state this is the number one issue we talk about,” Alme said. “We must be sure people feel safe in their neighborhoods. As a U.S. attorney I focused on violent crime and drug traffickers, and we prosecuted more defendants than any year within the past 20 years.”

Harm reduction

“Montana’s violent crime is caused by our drug problem,” said Alme, who served as president and general counsel of the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation from 2013-17. The foundation supports a range of programs for vulnerable youths, including therapeutic foster care and community advocacy.

“We went to work to try to not only reduce supply through prosecution but reduce demand by trying to keep our kids from getting started in the first place, and those who are having a substance abuse problem, to try to help them break free of it,” Alme said. “We got to go after drug trafficking gangs all the way up to the cartels and we got to tear them out by the roots. That’s a change in prosecution strategy under the president this time and it’s been very effective.

“If we can do those things and then if we stop defunding the police and instead focus on backing the blue and making sure law enforcement has what they need, we’re gonna keep going in the right direction.”

Data Centers

“If a data center company wants to come into one of our communities, they need to be transparent,” Alme said. “They need to be transparent about the costs, the other impacts on the community, and they can’t cut corners.”

Alme proposed guidelines mandating data centers ‘pay their way’ to relocate and set up in-state, emphasizing a need for hiring locals and protecting water usage while ensuring electricity rates don’t increase for citizens.

“We can’t have any adverse effects on our water quality or our water rights and users,” Alme said. “They must guarantee (Montanans) won’t pay more for electricity. They should be working to help us pay less.

“Even if those things are done, they need to come in and earn… community support. Then it’s up to local communities to weigh the jobs and tax base against any adverse impacts and decide if that’s something they want in their community.”

Second Amendment

“We got to defend our Second Amendment rights and our firearms heritage,” Alme said, referring to an endorsement and grade ‘A’ rating by the National Rifle Association, a nonprofit advocating for gun rights and teaching firearms safety. “We also need to support our agriculture community, keep boys out of girls’ sports, and we need to secure our elections. These are basic common sense things.

“If we lose the Montana senate seat, we will almost certainly lose the senate,” Alme said. “If that happens, I think we know what’s going to happen. The president is gonna be subjected to investigations and impeachment proceedings for two years. We’re not gonna be able to confirm judges and we’re not gonna be able to confirm Supreme Court justices. The president’s party usually loses seats in (midterms).”