The Mineral County Democratic Central Committee held a potluck dinner and auction on Saturday, April 29, in Plains to raise funds for Rob Quist, Democratic candidate for the vacant seat for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The event was co-sponsored with the Sanders County Democrats and held at the VFW. More than 70 people attended the event where music was provided by Weylin of Trout Creek and Keiko and Wayo from Hot Springs. There was also a special appearance by one of Quist’s campaigners, who performed a rap number he had written for the campaign.

Also on Saturday evening, the Mineral County Republican Central Committee held its annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at the St. Regis Community Center, where funds were raised for Republican candidate Greg Gianforte, who is squaring off against Quist in the May 25 special election to replace Ryan Zinke, who vacated his seat to become Secretary of the Interior.

In Plains, the group watched the televised debate that included Quist and Gianforte and Libertarian candidate Mark Wicks. The trio debated several issues, with Gianforte supporting taking funding away from Planned Parenthood, stating that, “I don’t think that…tax dollars should be used to pay for abortion…I don’t believe that organization has been a particularly good steward of resources.”

Quist supports the nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care for women, as well as abortions at some clinics, “I think those decisions are between a woman and her faith and her doctor and no one else. No one else has the right to know,” Quist said.

When asked about President Trump’s recent executive order to review any national monuments created since 1996, of which there are at least 100,000 acres, including the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument in Montana, Quist viewed it as a move to make lands available for private development.

“People have worked on these monuments and some of these wilderness areas for years at a time and they’re great economic boons for the areas that have them,” Quist said. “I think the people of America are going to stand up against it.”

Gianforte said, “what we’re asking for is local input from the people. This review process allows local input to occur.”

Wicks echoed Gianforte’s view and said the monuments were created with little public input.

When asked about their positions on marijuana use, Quist said he supports its legalization for both medicinal and recreational use.

“I think the majority of Montanans and Americans agree they would like to see the decriminalization go forward and not criminalize people for something that should not be criminal,” Quist said.

Gianforte does not support recreational use and said the state has a problem with drug addiction. He does support medical marijuana for people with chronic pain and under a doctor’s supervision.

Gianforte is originally from New Jersey and is a wealthy former businessman who started a high-tech company in Bozeman that he sold to Oracle for $1.5 billion.

Quist is from Creston in the Flathead Valley, and is a musician and poet who was part of the popular Mission Mountain Wood Band.

Wicks is a rancher from Inverness and said he would be a different voice for Montana and that for too long Republicans and Democrats have been sent to Washington without results.

The Republican Central Committee will be hosting a meet-and-greet for Gianforte on May 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Mineral County Fairgrounds.

There will be sandwiches and refreshments served.