{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Unpacking the polling on pandemic recovery and Montana\u2019s senate race","description":"There are two big takeaways from a poll released this week by Montana State University: Montanans are definitely concerned about economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Steve Daines looks to be very much in play now that Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock has been able to capitalize on a statewide pandemic response that has, thus far, yielded relatively favorable results. The timing of Bullock\u2019s entry into the race appears fairly auspicious. As Mike Dennison, chief political reporter for the Montana Television Network, puts it, \u201cHe gets in on the last day, March 9; he raised $3.3 million in three weeks; the pandemic hits; he\u2019s in the news every single day.\u201d Dennison notes that Bullock\u2019s official responses to the pandemic have been largely based on the recommendations of public health experts, and adds, \u201cHe\u2019s getting incredible exposure, and not spending a single dime of his campaign money doing it. It\u2019s just a real political bonanza for Gov. Bullock.\u201d But how to account for another finding of the poll: that Montanans still favor re-election of President Donald Trump over the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden? \u201cA lot of the attitudes toward Trump are already baked in, regardless of what it is. But if there\u2019s anxiety, that anxiety needs to be expressed somewhere, and it seems to be expressed elsewhere, down-ballot, at least in our senate numbers,\u201d says Dr. David Parker, head of Montana State University\u2019s Department of Political Science, which helped organize the poll. So how might the pandemic \u2014 and state and federal efforts to respond to it with stay-at-home orders, stimulus checks and relief funds \u2014 ultimately impact voter preferences? And how might Montana\u2019s top U.S. Senate candidates tailor their messages to reach voters who are leery of misinformation and false narratives as the nation seeks a return to normalcy? Dennison thinks it will come down to the candidates\u2019 records. He tells Adams, \u201cI really think the race is going to be fought out on how each of them has responded to this pandemic, and also, what is their record? What is Steve Bullock\u2019s record as governor? What is Steve Daines\u2019 record as senator?\u201d Dennison and Parker are featured on this week\u2019s episode of the Montana Lowdown podcast, a weekly publication of Montana Free Press hosted by editor-in-chief John S. Adams. ","author_name":"Montana Lowdown","author_url":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org","html":"