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October 12, 2023
On Monday, the Ravalli County Republican Central Committee made the decision to remove their longstanding chair, marking the pinnacle of a protracted internal conflict between extreme right-wing members associated with the John Birch Society and the established GOP members of the county.
Former Ravalli County Commissioner Ron Stoltz has been elected as the central committee chair in a vote of 21-13, defeating Terry Nelson who had held the position since 2008. Despite this loss, Nelson, who is a planner, surveyor, and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, will remain in his role as state party secretary. He was elected to this position at a statewide convention earlier this year.
Stoltz was nominated for chair by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, the chair of the Montana Freedom Caucus and a prominent figure among Republican hardliners in Montana. She noted during Monday’s county party meeting that Stoltz was an early political mentor to her and recruited her to run for a seat in the state Legislature. Some say that he lost his county commission primary in 2014 (by almost 50 points) because he was “too conservative,” Manzella said. There is, she said, no such thing.
She stated that there are those who argue that his constitutional conservatism would result in a loss of votes for our county. However, she personally hasn’t experienced that to be true. The belief is that in order to succeed, one must have a broad appeal and be more moderate. Yet, she observed that during our Montana GOP conventions, it is the constitutional conservatives who consistently prevail in the voting, even on matters like our unwavering pro-life stance.
Before the vote took place, a motion was passed to implement several quasi-election integrity measures. These measures included making it mandatory for the vote to be conducted in public, ensuring each candidate appoint observers, and verifying that the number of votes counted matches the number of eligible voters.
Manzella remarked, “I appreciate having a built-in audit.”
The remark was made in a capitalized manner, suggesting that the county party members appeared rather suspicious. This perception was fueled by two key factors: the overwhelming Republican majority in Ravalli County and the meager number of voters, barely reaching a few dozen.
The attendee responded, saying that if one is not suspicious in politics, they must be blind.
Stoltz, in his concise statement before the vote, criticized the county party for being inactive and having an exhausted leader. Nelson, while presenting his case, mentioned his initial involvement in county Republican politics as a means to overpower Democrats, and proudly stated that they have accomplished that goal. He highlighted the county’s growing Republican support since he assumed control of the committee.
He stated, “I have no interest in leading an initiative solely aimed at criticizing fellow Republicans.”
Division between Republican hardliners and comparative moderates is a key feature of Ravalli County politics. Self-described “Reagan Republican” lawmakers like Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, are regularly pilloried as “Republicans In Name Only” by members of their own party in their own county. The county central committee has been in a state of disarray since at least April, when members affiliated with Manzella began arguing that the committee should hold a convention to elect new officers ahead of the statewide party officer’s convention this summer. That would be in contravention of party bylaws, which state that county conventions should be held between August and November. Nelson said he received a determination from the state party to that effect.
However, chaos ensued when he shared this discovery during a central committee meeting in the spring. Multiple individuals expressed their disagreement with the state party’s interpretation and criticized other Republican officials from the county. As a result, Nelson decided to discontinue holding central committee meetings.
The group opposed to Nelson, including Manzella, Alan and Terri Lackey, Doug Bohn, and others, separated from the central committee and started having their own meetings. They even elected their own officers, arguing that Nelson had essentially quit his position. This divide became apparent during the statewide officer’s convention in June, when activists from Ravalli County tried to stop delegates from the central committee from being included. This attempt was not successful, but a similar tactic did prevent delegates from the Missoula County GOP committee from taking part in the convention.
The group raised concerns about Nelson’s legitimacy as chair by filing a complaint with the state party in September. In response, the party sent a letter to Nelson, Stoltz, and Manzella in October stating that the complainants failed to provide any evidence that Nelson was not properly elected as chair or that he had resigned. The party concluded that the complaint was mainly based on grievances unrelated to the party’s bylaws or statutes.
According to Emily Jones, an attorney for the state party, if Chairman Nelson is still the Chairman of the RCCC, it is clear from the Party Rules that only Nelson can lead a convention. Additionally, the convention must take place between August 1 and November 1 in odd-numbered years. Therefore, any conventions that were held without Chairman Nelson’s involvement, as mentioned in the complaint, were not in line with the Party Rules and are considered invalid.
Jones wrote that individuals who pretend to be legitimate representatives of the county party could potentially be breaking the law.
However, the county party was still required to elect new officers before November. This presented a challenging but necessary dilemma: if the Nelson team could rally their supporters to attend the vote (even though their numbers had dwindled over time and meetings were no longer being held), they could effectively defeat the rebellious faction. On the other hand, if the more energized hardliners were present, they could validate the existence of the unofficial central committee.
And that is exactly what took place. Following Nelson’s defeat, none of the remaining officer positions faced any opposition. Alan and Terri Lackey emerged as the elected state committeeman and committeewoman.
Nelson expressed his concerns in an interview on Thursday, stating that he doubts a Democrat will be elected in Ravalli County for at least the next ten years. However, he also expressed worries that the internal conflicts within the Republican party could result in a decrease in their numbers and potentially lead to losing statewide elected positions.
He expresses that he doesn’t necessarily disagree with the hardliners’ conservative ideology, but rather takes issue with their methods.
He remembered a tale about Nelson, who took over as chair of the central committee after Dan Cox. Like Nelson, Cox had also dealt with a rebellion from a faction of staunch dogmatists. Eventually, Cox decided to leave the GOP and join the Libertarian party. In 2012, he even ran for the U.S. Senate, earning approximately 32,000 votes. This number was greater than the difference in votes between Republican Denny Rehberg and the victorious Democrat Jon Tester.
Nelson remarked that these individuals are excessively idealistic, failing to comprehend the distinction between politics and warfare.
In a text message sent to Capitolized, Manzella expressed her satisfaction with the conclusion of the elections. She stated her contentment with having “strong, principled, transparent, accountable leadership in place to guide us towards a positive future.”
The election results indicate that the county party’s leadership will now consist of individuals who hold a significantly more radical perspective compared to the majority of the Bitterroot Valley’s representatives in the state Legislature, with Bedey being particularly distinct in this regard.
Bedey — no stranger to taking stands that aggravate other members of his party — shared with Capitolized a letter he intends to publish in a local newspaper. In it, he writes that the county party has declined “into an entity that is no longer recognizable as being Republican.”
In the past year, the conduct of several members has caused dedicated conservatives to withdraw their active involvement in RCRCC activities. This coincided with the successful infiltration and subsequent control of the committee by an extremist faction. Many of these individuals are followers of the John Birch Society (JBS), a group known for propagating outlandish conspiracy theories in the 1960s (such as the belief that Dwight Eisenhower was a Communist spy). They also promote the idea that the Civil War was a result of an Illuminati-Marxist conspiracy, with President Lincoln being complicit, and their current main policy stance involves advocating for the unconstitutional “nullification” of federal laws by state legislatures.
During times of unease, individuals tend to turn towards the most outspoken and assertive figures who provide simple answers, Bedey expressed during an interview on Thursday. However, he believes that a political party that distances itself from the moderate majority may survive temporarily but will ultimately collapse. He stressed that his message applies to Democrats as well, regardless of their enjoyment of the internal conflict within the Republican Party.
—Arren Kimbel-Sannit
Changing of the Guard in Ravalli County
COPP Dismisses Complaint Against Juras
Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices has dismissed an ethics complaintagainst Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras concerning a home she rents in Helena from the Montana Family Institute.
In December 2022, the Democratic Party of the state lodged a complaint against Juras, claiming that she was accepting an inappropriate gift from the Family Institute. This conservative advocacy group, linked to Gov. Greg Gianforte, allegedly provided her with reduced rent for her residence in Helena. The property, located near the Capitol, was originally owned by the Gianforte Family Foundation until it was transferred to the institute in December 2020.
Public officials in Montana are not allowed, according to state law, to accept a gift that holds either a significant value or substantial economic advantage.
The Democrats’ complaint insinuated that Juras was benefiting from a reduced rental rate due to her position. However, the party failed to provide any evidence to support this claim, apart from the nonprofit paperwork of the Family Institute from 2016 to 2020. It is worth noting that during this period, the institute did not own the house, and no rental income was documented.
The complaint was outright dismissed by Commissioner Chris Gallus, who stated that the Democrats were unable to provide any description of a potential violation of the state ethics code. Additionally, Juras was able to provide evidence of paying rent to the Family Institute.
Gallus stated that the complaint lacks any allegation that could lead to the conclusion of a potential violation.
—Arren Kimbel-Sannit
Background Reading
At their 2023 convention, Montana Republicans made their plan clear: Beat Tester, take the U.S. Senate: While most of this summer’s state GOP convention was focused on defeating Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, county party infighting also reared its head.
COPP dismissed Montana Democrats’ ethics complaint involving Juras’ Helena rental: The Daily Montanan was first to report the COPP’s dismissal of the ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras.
