Great Falls Tribune - Gianforte wants to help all Montanans prosper

Press Release

Great Falls Tribune: Gianforte wants to help all Montanans prosper (03/31/2017)

"I was running to fight for Montana and took steps to make sure I could win the special election," Gianforte told the Tribune, adding that neither he nor his wife donated money to this year's campaign.

"I think voters are sick and tired of career politicians, and I would offer the refreshing change of somebody who knows what it's like to start and grow a business here in Montana," he said.

The Bozeman computer software tycoon pledged to give Montana a strong voice in helping new President Trump "drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. and make America great again."

Gianforte, 55, promised to "bring accountability back to Washington" by supporting term limits and balancing the budget.

He said he would create and keep Montana jobs "by reducing over-reach by federal regulators that are really strangling job creators." He applauded Trump's pledge to get rid of the Clean Power Plan, which mandates reductions in carbon emissions at power plants.

"To eliminate 7,000 coal-related jobs in Montana, with negligible impact on carbon dioxide emissions, doesn't make any sense to me," he said.

Gianforte said he is a life member of the NRA and a strong gun rights advocate, and criticized Quist for supporting gun registration and a failing, government-run health care program.

Gianforte said he and his wife Susan started RightNow Technologies in 1997 in a spare room of their Bozeman house. They developed a hugely successful software program that helped major consumer businesses improve their online customer response programs, and grew the company to 1,100 employees, half working in Bozeman and earning wages averaging $86,000 a year. Oracle purchased RightNow Technologies for more than $1.5 billion in 2011.

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