A Platform for all

Healthcare. affordability. corruption.

Montana is being priced out from under the very people who built it. While hardworking Montanans fight to stay afloat, billionaires and corporate elites are rigging our economy for themselves and shutting the rest of us out. We deserve better, and it is time to fight back.

Russ proudly stands behind a platform built from our shared values, not broken promises. He dedicated his first four months of campaigning to being immersed in every community across every corner of the district, listening to Montanans. The message was clear:  Montanans are sick of division, and are ready for real representation. Russ is proud to stand on a values-based platform built for Montanans, aimed at fixing healthcare, affordability, and corruption.

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Frequently asked Questions

  • Yes. In Montana our right to privacy is sacrosanct in the 1972 Montana State Constitution as amended recently on this issue. Decisions about our healthcare ought to stay between us, our families, and our doctors, not politicians. This is personal for me as a father raising daughters who deserve the same rights and bodily autonomy as anyone else. Real choice only exists when people have access to healthcare, contraception, childcare, and wages that let families decide without desperation, which is why I will fight for Medicare for All.

  • Russ’s stance on Palestine, like other areas of the world, remains straightforward. Protect human rights! That means reject genocide, reject war crimes, and reject the killing of innocent civilians. We must reaffirm our leadership as a moral and just country in the world by ending blank checks without accountability to allies like Israel, rejecting forever wars that cost lives overseas while draining resources from families here at home. Humanitarian aid should remain available to civilians, but U.S. military and financial support must be conditional on real diplomacy, accountability, and adherence to international law. Otherwise aid must stop, instead addressing issues long ignored in the U.S. like housing, healthcare, wages, and infrastructure needs.

  • The issue with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data centers isn’t technology, it’s who controls the decisions and how is our privacy protected. Montanans should decide what gets built on our land, using OUR water and energy, not D.C. agencies or wealthy tech corporations looking to cash in. That’s why I support ending an AI moratorium to pause development of data centers until guard rails are established that deliver good jobs, responsible infrastructure, and accountability to our Montana lands, waters, and communities.

  • Term limits and banning stock trading matter, but they only work if we tackle corruption and money in politics head-on. I’ve signed a notarized pledge, alongside more than 100 candidates across the country, committing to real, enforceable ethics reform, including a full stock trading ban, a five-year lobbying moratorium, an enforceable judicial code of ethics, term limits, and ending Citizens United. This is a core pillar of my campaign, and we’ll have a real opportunity to finally push this agenda forward together because of the nationwide coalition of other candidates I helped build, giving us real power and an actionable agenda on day one.

  • I support passing the Equality Act so LGBTQIA+ people cannot legally be fired, denied housing, or refused healthcare because of who they are. Discrimination makes affordability worse, and fixing access to housing, healthcare, and wages helps everyone. Equality isn’t a special interest, it’s how we build systems that actually work for Montana families.

  • It’s both. I strongly support the Second Amendment. I’m a Navy veteran, and I took an oath to defend the Constitution, including the right to own a firearm. Just like we are taught in the service, responsible gun use and ownership also require secure storage and accountability. However, rising gun violence is first and foremost a healthcare failure. We need Medicare for All that fully includes mental health, crisis care, vision, and dental, so people get help before they reach a breaking point. When firearms are properly secured and healthcare remains accessible to everyone without financial burden, communities are safer and responsible gun owners aren’t punished.

  • Yes. I support the roadless rule because it protects Montana’s water, wildlife, and outdoor economy from being sold off to special interests. This comes back to corruption and money in politics, when donors and corporations get a say, public lands lose. Ryan Zinke and the current administration talks like public-lands champions, but their record shows they side with donors and rollbacks, not long-term protection for Montanans or our wild places.

  • I offer a different kind of leadership. One grounded in real Montana life, not politics as usual. My campaign isn’t guided or funded by D.C. consultants, lobbyists, or dark money groups, which means I’m not boxed in or defined by anyone else’s agenda. My experience spans military service in the U.S. Navy, finance, small business, agriculture, childcare, and healthcare.  That lived experience shapes how I approach affordability, accountability, and getting real results for Montanans.

  • Housing affordability is being squeezed from both ends; rising housing costs and wages that haven’t kept up because the system rewards the top at everyone else’s expense. I’ve worked in lending and helped build affordable housing in Montana, so I’ve seen how bad policy and corporate-driven pay gaps push young people out. That’s why my approach focuses on real affordability: building housing people can afford and tackling corruption-driven wage inequality, including a 50:1 pay cap, so no executive makes more than fifty times their lowest paid employee. This gives credit that is due back to the working class and ensures working Montanans can actually stay here.

  • Today in our country, federal overreach is out of control.  Our immigration system needs a full restructuring. I support ending ICE, as well as post 9/11 legislation that has fueled this federal overreach and fear. We must focus instead on improving an antiquated immigration application process to speed up the processing timeline, while still enforcing our immigration laws by directing resources to properly fund state and local law enforcement. That approach restores accountability, fixes broken processing, and allows enforcement to happen responsibly without violating civil rights or states’ authority. We can achieve both firm border control and improve immigrant processing by electing leaders like Russ, who are focused on solutions, not racist slander and fear mongering.

  • Our goal should not be “get back to normal” because normal gave us corruption, endless wars, and a system rigged for the wealthy. The way forward is ending corruption, getting money out of politics, and returning power to the people so government works for families again. This race is about choosing whether we repeat the same mistakes or finally break from “bought and paid for” politics and finally build something better for both our current and our future generations.

  • I didn’t come up through politics, I came up through real life. I’m a U.S. Navy veteran raised in western Montana. I’ve  built businesses, managing everything from Fortune 500–scale budgets to small-business payroll, and tackling real challenges like childcare and affordable housing. After losing my daughter to leukemia, I saw firsthand how broken our healthcare system is, and that’s why I’m committed to delivering results, not excuses, for Montana families.

  • The climate crisis keeps getting worse because polluters are still writing the rules, and politicians like Ryan Zinke keep choosing donors and corporations over Montana communities. Our state constitution guarantees Montanans the right to a clean and healthful environment, yet Federal agencies keep fast-tracking projects like the Sheep Creek mine by cutting out local input and putting our land, water, agriculture, and way of life at risk. Real solutions start with getting money out of politics and diversifying our energy sources so we build modern infrastructure and good-paying jobs young Montanans can build a future on right here at home.

  • Yes.  Student debt is a major driver of the affordability crisis, and it’s punishing people for trying to get an education while dragging down the economy. As a starter, student loans should be zero interest and existing debt needs real reduction, but forgiveness alone won’t solve the problem if we don’t fix how education is funded and how wages keep up. That’s why I support reworking the pipeline so the last two years of high school count toward college or the trades, letting students graduate with real credentials and a path to a good-paying job, not lifelong debt.

  • Federal trade policy hits Montana agriculture where it hurts. I see it on my own ranch in Saint Regis through higher input costs, expensive equipment, and unstable markets. When tariffs are used as a political weapon, family farmers and ranchers pay the price while D.C. insiders don’t. We need fair trade policies that cut red tape, keep lobbyists out of the room, and let Montana producers compete without taxpayers cleaning up Washington’s mistakes.

  • Young people aren’t leaving Montana because they want to. They’re being pushed out by bad policies that hold wages down while housing, groceries, and childcare keep climbing. Keeping graduates here means fixing the full pipeline: reducing lifelong student debt, making sure workers see the raises instead of all the money going to executives (50:1 pay cap for executives), and lowering costs through affordable housing, Medicare for All, and Universal childcare. I’ve worked on these problems in real life, not theory, and I’m committed to making Montana a place where young people can build a future, not feel forced to leave.

  • We won’t fix the housing crisis unless we deal with what’s really driving it: wages that haven’t kept up and a system rigged for corporations and Wall Street.  At the federal level, I will fight to raise wages by closing extreme pay gaps, direct federal housing dollars toward workforce and affordable housing instead of luxury units, and stop corporate investors from treating residential homes like a Wall Street investment. This is about affordability and corruption.  Housing should work for people who live and work here, not special interests cashing in.

  • No. Selling public lands creates permanent damage and hands Montana’s incredible lands, water, wildlife, and air over to corporations that don’t live with the consequences. These sell-offs benefit special interests while taxpayers and local communities are left with pollution, cleanup costs, and lost access that hurts hunting, fishing, agriculture, and tourism. This is about corruption and accountability.  Public lands aren’t bargaining chips for corporations, they’re part of who we are as Montanans, and I’ll fight to keep them that way.

  • No. I support strong public education, as guaranteed in the 1972 Montana State Constitution. I’m a product of Montana public schools, and my kids attend public school today, so I know what these schools mean to our communities. Montana already has some of the lowest teacher pay in the country, and diverting public dollars to vouchers only makes it harder to recruit teachers and keep classrooms staffed, especially in rural areas. Our state constitution guarantees every Montana kid a free, quality public education, and I’ll fight to make sure our tax dollars strengthen public schools, not subsidize private interests, so that every child gets an equal opportunity at a bright future thanks to quality public education.

Values that drive russell’s campaign:

  • I believe healthcare is a human right. Too many Montanans skip the doctor because they are forced to choose between paying for healthcare and keeping a roof over their heads. In a country this wealthy, that is a moral failure. I will fight for an improved version Medicare for All, lowering drug prices, fighting for strong rural clinics, and funding research programs that lead the world again in finding cures and preventing disease. Social Security and Medicare are promises America made to its workers, and I will fight to defend them so Montanans can retire with dignity instead of worrying about rising costs. As a veteran, I believe we honor those who have served by not only giving them the care and respect they deserve, but by strengthening the VA to protect, restore, and expand veterans benefits, ensuring every veteran has a future they can afford.

  • I believe in workers’ rights and in the dignity of every person who works to earn a living. I will fight to defend the right to collectively bargain and restore those rights to government employees who have been under attack. Without strong unions, working families cannot thrive. Fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to stand together built the American middle class, and those values must guide us again. I believe no one who works hard should be struggling to make ends meet, and that every Montanan deserves the chance to get ahead and thrive.

    I believe the heart of Montana is in our small businesses, farms, ranches, and trades, and in the people who work tirelessly to keep our communities alive. A strong economy means giving local businesses and local workers what they need to grow, build, and stay rooted in the towns that depend on them. Montana should lead again by building and innovating here at home, by valuing real work and local workers, and by making this state a place where people can afford a good life. Technology should serve Montana, not the other way around, and that growth only matters if it protects our resources and lowers the cost of living for the people who already call this place home.

  • I believe water is life. It runs through our valleys, our history, and our blood. When you mess with Montana’s water, you mess with Montanans. I will fight to protect every river, every lake, and every stream because nobody steals our water. I believe our public lands are sacred. They are the homelands that Tribal Nations have been stewards of since time immemorial and the places where generations of Montanans hunt, fish, work, and raise their kids. I will not let this land be fenced off, sold off, or carved up by people who do not live here or who do not share the same values as those who do.

    This is the Last Best Place, and we are going to keep it that way. I believe Montana deserves a future built by us. Our Montana State Constitution guarantees clean water, clean air, and healthy land, and I will defend that promise with everything I have at the federal level. I believe in clean energy that aims to preserve this place for generations to come, good paying jobs that encourage families to stay here, and a future where Montana stays Montana.

  • Every Montanan is entitled to the same rights, full stop. No one should ever be treated as less than. Personal freedom is sacred, and I will defend every person’s right to live safe, free, and with dignity, no exceptions.

    I believe Tribal sovereignty is sacred. I will work side by side with our Native leaders to guarantee sustainable partnerships and a seat at the table. Too long have there been empty words and broken promises. I support stable funding for all natives, and real partnership in federal decision-making and I will work tirelessly to end the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous lives.

    I believe strongly in a humane immigration system that treats people with compassion, keeps families together, strengthens our communities, and makes this country safer and more united. I aim to protect human rights for every person, no matter who they are or where they come from.

  • I do not believe our country’s billionaires and corporations should be able to buy our democracy. Elections belong to the people, and I will fight to end Citizens United, ban dark money, and bring the framework of The Montana Plan to the national stage. My campaign will not take a dime of corporate PAC money or dark money, this is a truly grassroots campaign powered by PEOPLE. Together, we’ll prove that we don’t need corporate money to win, just the power of the people. I believe every Montanan owns their vote and their personal information, and I will defend our Constitution so elections stay free, fair, and in the hands of the people. I will stand up to Big Tech, billionaires, and politicians who think they can buy our data and our democracy.

    I believe strong schools build strong communities, which is why I will work to implement universal childcare, including Universal Pre-K, ensuring every family has a fair shot. Teachers deserve a living wage, schools deserve the resources to give every child a strong future, and Montana families should not have to drain their savings to afford childcare. I believe strongly in peace over profit, and it is time to end the vicious cycle of pouring billions of dollars into foreign wars and turning a blind eye to genocide while Americans struggle to make ends meet here at home. A strong defense means readiness, accountability, and prioritizing taking care of Americans first.

If thESE VALUES resonate with you… join me, and together we can fight to restore a Montana that actually works for the WORKING people who live herE.