U.S. House Candidate Visits Wolf Point

U.S. House candidate Ric Holden made a stop in Wolf Point last week. Holden, a former state senator, is a rancher in Dawson County and lives between Terry and Glendive.

Holden served in the state senate for eight years before leaving office due to term limits in 2002. At that time, he decided to step away from politics so he could spend more time with his family and running his ranch. While in the state senate, he served as chairman for the ag committee.

The Republican started to consider a run for the U.S. House when he watched the problems with illegal immigrants. He noted the illegal immigrants are receiving free government benefits including health care, education and other materials.

“That’s what really tweaked my interest,” Holden said. “We have a government out of control here.”

Another concern is the national debt, which Holden said has increased from $33 trillion when he announced his candidacy in September to now $34 trillion.

“It’s climbing so far that it’s going to break the economy,” Holden added. “It’s obvious that we need to stop our spending. We’re broke.”

The rancher said that agriculture continues to be Montana’s number one industry. He aims to make agriculture more of a priority at the federal level and serve on the House’s agriculture committee.

“When it comes to agriculture, I understand the ag economy and what people have to do to make operations profitable,” Holden said.

He said he is the only candidate for House that lives east of Billings and the only one that is actively involved in agriculture.

He also mentioned that he understands the importance of natural resources such as oil and coal in Montana. He says the federal government’s attitude regarding natural resources needs to change.