He’s baaa-aack.
Firearm industry turncoat, Ryan Busse, a former paid gun control lobbyist and failed gubernatorial candidate, announced he’s throwing his hat in the ring and again seeking the approval of Montana voters who just two years ago overwhelmingly rejected him in favor of reelecting Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Busse shopped around the state like he was flipping through the pages of the Fall issue of a men’s outdoor wear catalogue and chose Montana’s western first congressional district to try to win a House seat. He’s now in a four-way Democrat primary, with the winner taking on incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke.
The election is just over nine months away.
Run It Back?
Busse lost his gubernatorial bid to Gov. Gianforte by nearly 20 percent after Montana voters roundly rejected his platform to lead the state, which included implementing strict gun control laws. That includes a ban on AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles — highly popular in the Big Sky Country among both men and women — to which he gave full-throated support to in 2024. He’s apparently ignoring that emphatic rejection, as many Democrats do these days, and doubling down on the same policies in this next go-around.
That’s a tough position to try to sell to voters in the state with the highest percentage of gun owners per capita in the entire country. For his part, Rep. Zinke has been a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and firearm industry that provides for exercise of that constitutional right.
Rep. Zinke earned an A+ in the 2024 NSSF Congressional Report Card for his exceptional support of and advocacy for legislation that supports the industry and the right to keep and bear arms. In that regard, Rep. Zinke and Busse are as far apart on Second Amendment issues as Montana is wide.
Cashing In
In his congressional campaign announcement video, beyond making it abundantly clear that he’s of the “I’m a hunter, but…” persuasion, Busse declares, “I know the difference between serving a place, and cashing in on it.”
But “cashing in on it” is exactly what Busse did professionally after spending 25 years working for a leading American firearm manufacturer, during which span they produced more than 2.3 million rifles, pistols and revolvers.
What did he do after that? He took a hefty paycheck from the national gun control group GIFFORDS the very next year after leaving his previous employer. GIFFORDS still has the press release up announcing that Busse was joining the gun control group as a “senior advisor.” He’s parlayed that role into television appearances and media opportunities ever since to push an anti-gun agenda more in line with Fudds than true Montana ranchers and outdoorsmen and women.
Astonishingly, though, Busse now wants Montanans to believe he’s noble and transparent in his gun control industry career, but refuses to show the receipts— choosing during his previous campaign to keep his financial records and tax returns private.
Not a Sure Thing
If Busse assumed he’d be taking on Rep. Zinke in nine months in an attempt to knock off the incumbent, he’s got to whoa his ponies a bit. Among his rivals for the Democrat nomination, the Daily Montanan reported “Missoula smokejumper and union leader Sam Forstag announced his candidacy,” for the seat as well, in addition to Matt Rains, of Simms, and Russ Cleveland, of St. Regis, “who each bring similar backgrounds as veterans and in agriculture to their campaigns.”
Should Busse be the Democratic candidate and hypothetically knock off a popular incumbent in Rep. Zinke, there’s little doubt he’d side with the national gun control activists who’ve paid him so well in many of the most consequential anti-Second Amendment proposals that would come out of Washington, D.C. He’s cashed those groups’ checks for years and and happily taken their donations and endorsements.
When it comes to voting against the values of Montanans, Busse would be just another rubber stamp.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
With all the Californians that ruined Bozeman, I wouldn’t count this prick out just yet.