At a news conference Tuesday on the Missoula County Courthouse lawn, Hunt, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, hurled a not-so-flattering nickname at the fourth-term congressman: “Do-nothing Dennis.”
Hunt was stumping in Missoula before the June 3 primary, where he faces off against former Public Service Commissioner John Driscoll and farmer-rancher Robert Candee, a Richey man who ran unsuccessfully in the 2006 Democratic primary won by now-U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
“I believe I'm going to unseat him,” Hunt said of Rehberg.
Indeed, the Montana Republican Party has called in backup this election year. Earlier this month, the GOP brought longtime political operative Karl Rove to Missoula to tell the party how to regain control of Big Sky Country.
At the time, Erik Iverson, chairman of the state GOP, said Republicans were a minority in Montana: “It's all hands on deck. We can turn Montana back into a Republican state.”
But Hunt on Tuesday went on the offensive and Iverson was in his sights. Iverson, Rehberg's chief of staff, came under fire when he was elected chairman of the Montana Republican Party. Hunt said Tuesday he saw no reason for Iverson to be based in Montana when there was a pile of work to be done in Washington, D.C.
Montana Republican Party communications director Chris Carter said Hunt's comments show he lacks strong ideas.
“It really shows the lack of substance that Mr. Hunt has in his campaign when he has to go and make an issue out of where not the congressman, but the congressman's chief of staff, lives,” Carter said.
He also said Iverson's ability to live in Montana means he remains in touch with Montanans. And Carter, in turn, pointed the finger at U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., for not owning his own home in Montana.
He said Iverson values his family and the state, and Iverson and Rehberg both value staying in touch with Montanans. That's sometimes hard to do far from home, Carter said.
“In D.C., in the Beltway, you can lose touch with the values and the issues that affect Montanans every day,” Carter said.
With Missoula Mayor John Engen in support at his side, Hunt spoke out against No Child Left Behind, the USA Patriot Act and the skyrocketing national debt. He spoke in favor of health insurance for children and said Rehberg initially voted against a bill offering children health insurance.
While Hunt may disagree with Rehberg, the “do-nothing” moniker isn't spot-on. The Montana Food Bank Network earlier this year praised Rehberg for pulling in a federal appropriation that helped the organization launch an expansion. Hunt, though, said Rehberg had ulterior motives for that move.
“He's doing it because of politics at this point,” Hunt said.
The money is flowing into Hunt's piggy bank. Less of it is going to Rehberg's. This quarter, Hunt raised some $133,000 to Rehberg's $107,000. Rehberg has more money overall - roughly half a million - but Hunt said he has something else to offer.
“My values are closer to Montana values. I'm in touch with Montana values,” Hunt said.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
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