What separates you from your primary opponents as your party’s best candidate to serve as Montana's attorney general?

I am the candidate with actual experience in the attorney general's office. I won't need on-the-job training like my primary opponent. I have worked on constitutional, criminal, natural resource, and consumer protection cases in front of the Montana Supreme Court and in federal court. He is not even licensed to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court.

I am committed to the job of attorney general without running for another political office. My opponent is a career politician who met with political insiders in D.C. right after he was elected to his current job (but before taking office). The Office of Attorney General deserves someone who will focus on the job every day of the year.

Should the state incarcerate fewer people? If so, are there specific criminal justice reform measures you support?

I support alternatives to incarceration for low-level, non-violent offenders who can be rehabilitated in their communities with supervision. I have championed treatment courts during my time at DOJ, including finding new state funding sources for them to ensure we can expand and increase capacity. I have helped to expand the 24-7 sobriety program that keeps DUI offenders in their communities with their jobs, but require regular sobriety checks. But many people who commit dangerous and violent crimes need to be incarcerated to protect the public. One passion of mine is developing a strategy on prevention. If you ask any policymaker what our strategy on prevention is, they can't tell you. I will lead on that front as attorney general, first by getting government, non-profits, churches, and employers on the same page to ensure this becomes a statewide issue of importance. If we can prevent crime and addiction in just some at-risk people, we will improve public safety and save money.

Do you believe abortion should be legal? If so, in which situations? If Montana passed an abortion ban, would you defend it from legal challenges?

I am pro-life. There are a lot of reasons why I am a Republican, but the issue of life is one that is right at the top. The Legislature and the people through ballot initiatives set restrictions on abortion, and it's the attorney general's job to defend those laws. That is what I have proudly done in the attorney general's office since 2013, including defending the parental notification law passed by voters in 2012 and the parental consent law in 2013. Any candidate who says they will not defend laws passed by the Legislature (which carry the presumption of constitutionality) should find another job because that is the duty of the attorney general.

Current Attorney General Tim Fox has initiated litigation against pharmaceutical companies that have distributed opioids in Montana. Do you support that action?

Yes, and I have been a part of those decisions, litigation strategy, and briefing. We have done more than just sue opioid distributors. We have brought lawsuits against drug manufacturers and other culpable parties. We are also involved in litigation and multi-state investigations against pharmaceutical companies on a variety of other consumer protection/anti-trust issues. The vast majority of money we have brought in to fund our office of consumer protection and provided to the general fund come from drug-related settlements.

We have also initiated litigation against the tobacco companies for illegally withholding payments they owe the state of Montana from the Master Settlement Agreement. These funds usually go toward CHIP, smoking cessation programs, and other public health needs. While nearly every other state has settled with tobacco companies on this issue, we have not buckled and we won't if I'm attorney general.

As the attorney general, you would be one of five seats on the Montana Land Board, which manages state trust lands. What priorities would you advocate for in that role?

Our state Constitution requires Land Board members to maximize revenues from these lands for the benefit of our schools. Whether it's timber, oil and gas, or coal-related activities, I will make sure we can use these lands to help get money so students can learn, schools can be built, and teachers can have good salaries and benefits. In focusing on that primary constitutional duty, there are other priorities that are not mutually exclusive, including public access and job creation.

I have also been involved at the attorney general's office in the intervention into federal forest management litigation where groups have sued to stop responsible management. These knee-jerk lawsuits have made our forests very unhealthy, susceptible to wildfire, reduced public access for recreation, and killed our timber jobs. We have successfully fought back against these lawsuits at a certain level, and I would like to step up those efforts.