Republican senatorial candidate Kurt Alme was all business at a campaign event in Kalispell on Monday during which he accepted an endorsement from the U.S Chamber of Commerce.

A former director for both the Montana Department of Revenue and the Montana Office of Budget and Program Planning, Alme has been considered a frontrunner in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Steve Daines since early March. While he has earned the endorsement of plenty of fellow Republicans, Alme told a crowd of about two dozen people gathered in a conference room at GL Solutions that the chamber's acknowledgement was "particularly a Montana-sized honor." 

"We all want good-paying jobs. We want a strong economy. We all want the opportunity to raise our families here without having to leave the state to find those good-paying jobs that we used to have to do in days gone by," Alme said. 

His own blueprint for a healthy economy and a more affordable cost of living features three prongs: reduce government spending, limit federal taxes and cut red tape in industries like construction and energy development. 

"Everyone promises to rein in spending, deliver fiscal discipline, but I've got a record," Alme said, referencing his career as a federal prosecutor specializing in white-collar crimes. 

Alme argued that fraudulent Social Security and Medicaid payments form the wellspring for the federal government's debt and that, by cutting waste in those aid programs, the government could rein in its spending enough to lower inflation.  

When it came to actual budget cuts for government programs, Alme hedged. While he lauded the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to reduce the size of many federal agencies, Alme described the department's methodologies as imprecise. 

"A lot of people took [buy-outs and early retirement plans]," Alme said. "But where they took them wasn't necessarily the places where we needed them, so now the different agencies are looking to backfill positions that are critical and get back to a new normal. Once that new normal is established, it'll be good to take a look at it and say, 'OK, are the agencies right-sized?' But I think it's going to take a little time for that process to play out." 

Asked about the Iran war, which economists largely agree is driving up the price of fuel and other essential goods for Americans, Alme turned his attention back toward domestic business issues. 

"I think the key for energy prices is increasing energy production," he said. "We need to unleash responsible energy production of all kinds. If we can do that, more energy is going to lead to cheaper gas and cheaper electricity." 

The United States is already the top crude oil producer in the world, accounting for 16% of the global share each year, but Alme said he saw opportunities for the domestic expansion of all forms of energy production, including wind, solar and other renewables, so long as the industry was not dependent on subsidies.  

"Right now, we've got to support the president and help him, and be sure that he has what he needs to negotiate the best deal that we can for the United States," he added when pressed about when he believed congressional oversight of the conflict should be necessitated. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 406-758-4433 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.