Incumbent Flathead firebrand Derek Skees faces a primary challenge from big-tent Republican Dee Kirk-Boon.
House District 11, just south of Kalispell, is not particularly large or densely populated. But the outcome of a competitive race for that legislative seat could have an outsized effect on the Republican caucus in 2021.
For nearly four years the district has been represented by Republican Derek Skees, one of the Legislature’s most zealously conservative members. His hard-line stances on abortion, gun rights and natural resource exploitation are rarely understated.
“There are certain things that I will not compromise on, because many of my constituents won’t compromise on them,” Skees said.
The incumbent, 51, is facing a primary challenge from Dee Kirk-Boon, 55, a former chair of the Flathead County Republican Party and longtime public figure in the district, which includes Kila, Lakeside and Somers.
Kirk-Boon, who co-owns a diesel service business with her husband, said she doesn’t consider herself at odds with Skees on many issues. Both candidates told the conservative advocacy group Montana Family Foundation that they oppose new regulations to combat global warming and support heavy restrictions on abortion, for example. But the candidates differ, Kirk-Boon said, in their willingness to compromise with legislators both within and outside of the Republican Party to pass necessary legislation.
“It’s negotiation all the way. Nobody’s going to get 100%,” Kirk-Boon said. “At the end of the day, you’re here for all Montanans, not for your political career.”
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If elected, Gianforte says, his immediate COVID recovery plans would include a broad lowering of taxes, a housecleaning of leadership at many state agencies, and a “top-to-bottom regulatory review across all state agencies.”
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Across Montana, the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened a basic human need: food security. From the closure of schools and restaurants to the staggering increase in unemployment, many Montana households don’t know how they’ll secure their next meal. In “Food banks adapt to surging demand and shifting supply chains,” Montana Free Press reported on some of these challenges, but the issues go even deeper. In an effort to further explore the new wave of food need created by the coronavirus pandemic, MTFP has invited several panelists working on the frontlines of food security to participate in a new virtual event series, Lifting Voices: Conversations on the issues that matter most.”
On Wednesday, May 27, at 12 pm MST, join Montana Free Press Editor-in-Chief John S. Adams; Lorianne Burhop, chief policy officer for the Montana Food Bank Network; Stacy Brown, executive director of Family Service in Billings; and Lisa Sheppard, director of Agency on Aging for Flathead County for “Feeding the Need: Responding to Hunger in Montana.”
This live digital event and online conversation will help bring clarity to a problem that is too often oversimplified, and lift the voices of people affected by food insecurity in Montana. Panelists will be available to answer questions from attendees.
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