POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As President Donald Trump grapples with the fallout from his firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, a House election here will test whether it is politically safer for Republicans to be with Mr. Trump than against him.
Greg Gianforte, the GOP businessman running to fill Montana’s only House seat, is campaigning with one of the president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., and Vice President Mike Pence. He promises to ‘drain the swamp’ and ‘make America great again.’ He supports the Comey firing decision…
Opposing Mr. Gianforte is professional bluegrass musician and political novice, Democrat Rob Quist, in what Republicans say is a referendum on the Trump presidency. Mr. Quist has campaigned on a populist platform largely devoid of the anti-Trump rhetoric that has galvanized liberals across the U.S. After Mr. Comey was fired, Mr. Quist criticized Gianforte for not backing an independent investigation of Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 election.
The May 25 election here will pick a successor to Ryan Zinke, who left Congress to become Mr. Trump’s Interior Secretary.”
-Janet Hook, “Montana House Race Is Gauge on Trump, Test for Democrats,” The Wall Street Journal online, May 15, 2017 6:30pm