“Let me be clear,” said Iverson, speaking to 200 delegates and other party faithful at the state party convention in Helena. “In 2008, we will expand our majority in the Montana House and we will retake the Senate.
“We're going to elect Republicans in Helena and Washington, D.C.”
R-Mont., said Democrats have failed miserably in leading the state on energy development, taxes and spending the past three years, and that it's time for Republicans to return to power in Montana.
Iverson's speech, which drew a standing ovation from the crowd, closed out Republicans' three-day state convention in Helena, where they elected party officers, heard from presidential candidate Mitt Romney and talked strategy for the coming election year.
His call-to-arms for the 2008 elections comes as Republicans look to recover from the 2006 loss of U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns in Montana and a drubbing by Democrats on the national level.
Montana Republicans also emerged from the convention with no announced candidate to challenge Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer in 2008 and no strong candidate to go against U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
State Rep. Michael Lange, R-Billings, indicated at the convention that he'll soon announce his intent to challenge Baucus in 2008.
But many Republicans said privately they're unsure about supporting Lange, who was removed by fellow Republicans as House majority leader after the 2007 Legislature.
Lange upset some Republicans, not only with his profanity-laced tirade against the governor in the closing days of the Legislature, but also for his role in post-session bargaining with the Schweitzer administration on tax-and-budget solutions for the May 10 special session.
Iverson reminded convention-goers Saturday that Democrats have “a governing majority” in Montana now, holding six of eight statewide offices and controlling the Montana Senate.
But he also noted that Montana was the only state in 2006 where Republicans made gains in legislative races.
Republicans gained a 50-49 advantage in the House in 2006 elections, breaking a 50-50 tie. Democrats lost a seat to Constitution Party Rep. Rick Jore of Ronan, who voted with Republicans to form a majority to elect top leaders in the House.
Republicans also erased a 27-23 Democratic advantage in the Senate in the 2006 elections, forging a 25-25 tie. But Republican Sen. Sam Kitzenberg of Glasgow decided after the election to switch parties and give Democrats a 26-24 majority for the current Legislature.
Iverson said Republicans can build on their 2006 successes by “bringing our message of hope, of lower taxes, of limited government to all corners of the state.”
Democrats took a $1 billion surplus brought on by Republican tax-and-budget policies and spent most of it without providing any meaningful tax relief, he said.
“Republicans will deliver tax relief to the state of Montana,” Iverson said. “The Democrats had their chance. They did not lead, and we will.”
Iverson also told delegates that Helena had become “too polarized, too mean-spirited,” and that Republicans must dedicate themselves to changing that tone.
“It is time to end the era of confrontation in Helena,” he said.
Iverson succeeds former Lt. Gov. Karl Ohs.
Convention-goers also heard Saturday morning from Rehberg, now the state's top Republican officeholder. Rehberg is expected to run for re-election next year, and has a Democratic challenger in Yellowstone County Commissioner Bill Kennedy.
The 51-year-old congressman said Republican losses in 2006 were not a national “realignment” or “mandate,” but rather a failure on the part of Republicans to convince independent voters to support the GOP.
He also said the Republican Party in Montana is unified, and that the media dwells too much on party differences.
Rehberg said Republicans must continue to stress their positions on key issues, such as lower taxes, free-market solutions for the health care system, a strong military and accountability in education.
Rehberg drew his biggest rounds of applause when he talked about immigration, saying that the United States must control its borders and not grant amnesty to illegal aliens.
“They ought to have to take a history course (to become a citizen), and ultimately take a test, in English,” he said. “You either want to be an American or you don't. There should be no opportunity to sneak across the border, have a baby and then you become a citizen.”
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