Special election likely to decide Zinke successor

With Montana’s lone congressman set to join President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, Montana officials anticipate a special election being held for the open seat in the U.S. House sometime early in 2017.

Rep. Ryan Zinke on Thursday announced he has accepted Trump’s nomination as secretary of the interior. Zinke, a Whitefish Republican, had won re-election to his second term in the House on Nov. 8.

Gov. Steve Bullock will now have to schedule a special election to take place between 85 and 100 days from the date the office becomes vacant, according to a Montana law passed in 2015. After the election is ordered, each political party will select a candidate and make a nomination at least 75 days before the special election date.

“You’ll see both parties figure this out at their convention,” said Jayson Peters, chair of Flathead County Republicans. “The interesting part of this … is that it’s a special election and you have to imagine we have only three months to run a campaign. In my opinion, you’re not going to see money or much campaigning on the ground. It’s going to be name recognition against name recognition.”

Setting a date for the conventions will be hurried, Peters said. The clock starts ticking for each party when Zinke officially resigns from his House seat.

Peters said Zinke would not resign immediately, but it could happen in late January, February or even March.

“It’s entirely up to Ryan Zinke, Donald Trump and what makes the most sense to them,” Peters said. “All of it is predicated on that.”

To add to the flurry of political activity spurred by Zinke’s appointment, the law passed by the 2015 Montana Legislature on how to fill vacancies for the U.S. Senate and House contains what is very likely an unconstitutional provision allowing the governor to appoint an interim representative.

Secretary of State Linda McCulloch said the U.S. Constitution allows only for the appointment of an interim senator, and not for an interim representative.

“The bill and subsequent annotation is contrary to the United States Constitution, which requires a special election, but no appointment,” McCulloch said in a statement Wednesday.

Under the disputed law, the governor “may” make a temporary appointment from a list of three nominations made by the party represented by the vacating member of Congress. In this instance, the Republican Party would provide a list of three possible replacements for Zinke who would serve in the interim before the special election is held.

Peters said the GOP may choose not to ask Bullock to make an appointment because of the constitutional questions.

“I think you’re likely to see that we’re not going to play that out because it’s not worth it,” he said. “Would that go to litigation? It gets a little too messy.”

In addition, there is little reason to expect Bullock, a Democrat, to take the opportunity appoint a replacement Republican when he is apparently under no obligation to do so. In 2014, Bullock appointed his lieutenant governor, John Walsh, to the Senate seat left vacant when Max Baucus accepted the post of U.S. ambassador to China. That appointment was itself controversial and led the Legislature to pass the new law.

State Sen. Brad Hamlett, D-Cascade, the state lawmaker who sponsored the 2015 bill setting up the process for appointments, said Bullock should appoint an interim replacement for the congressional seat until the special election takes place. In an Associated Press report, Hamlett said it is critical that Montana is represented in Congress during the 85- to 100-day period before the special election.

“Until they take it to the Supreme Court and they say we can’t do it, we should go ahead as the law is written,” said Hammett.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.