HELENA - Former Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) told him not to run for the U.S. Senate next year, saying he didn't want to see a Democratic primary in the race for the seat being vacated by Max Baucus (D-MT).
Bohlinger, now a Democrat after previously holding state office as a Republican, said that on November 6th, the day after he announced his candidacy, he received a phone call from Reid, saying current Lt. Gov. John Walsh was his choice for the ticket.
"And he said, you know, ‘John, you know, you're a nice guy, but we've chosen Walsh. We'd like you to drop out. We don't want to have a primary,'" Bohlinger said. "And I said, ‘Senator, we're going to have a primary in Montana. And it will be the people of Montana that choose the next Democratic Senatorial candidate.'"
Bohlinger said the pair visited on the phone for about 10 or 15 minutes. In the end, Reid wished him good luck and said to call him if he needed any help.
Reid's office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter Monday.
Bohlinger criticized similar such meddling involvement in the primary by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which has voiced support for Walsh and has the ability to connect candidates with campaign funds.
He said former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer-the Democrat with whom Bohlinger served in the statehouse as Republican lieutenant governor from 2005 until this year-told him his first call should be to Guy Cecil, executive director of the DSCC, to see if there was support for his candidacy.
But the DSCC said it had already decided to support Walsh, according to Bohlinger.
"And I said, "It's inappropriate for the DSCC to involve themselves in primaries," Bohlinger said. "It's the people of the state of Montana who will choose the next Democratic Senatorial candidate, not the political insiders in Washington, D.C. I'm really surprised that they would do something like that."
