ROCKY BOY, Mont. (NMB) – Democrat Jonathan Windy Boy held onto his seat representing House District 32 in the State Legislature, defeating Republican G. Bruce Meyers by 570 votes.
“First of all I’d like to thank all of my supporters and those who voted for me,” Windy Boy said. “And moving forward, I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Representing all people in the District, whether they supported me or not. And as I move forward with this endeavor. I feel good about the win.”
This was a rematch of a 2018 race, but Windy Boy says the ongoing pandemic changed the dynamic of the contest.
“I was glad because my constituents did not fail me. I’m glad that I built the trust I did with them. Even though this coronavirus set a whole different dynamic of not only campaigning across Montana, but across the country, as a challenge. And those who debunk COVID-19 as a hoax, I can speak to that this is not a hoax, this is real. Because I just came off quarantine and I tested positive for COVID-19, so I know it’s real. That is definitely something that I’m going to find a solution to get things more safer for my local people. Some call it an enemy, but it’s an invisible force that’s just wreaking havoc, not only in HD 32 and Montana and the United States, but around the world. We’ve got to figure out something so that our future generations can prosper from this at the end of the day.”
Windy Boy says he has since recovered from COVID-19.
He will return to a legislature where the Republicans will have the clear majority, as they are projected to have 67 of the 100 seats in the State House. But Windy Boy says he believes he can still reach across the aisle to get legislation passed on a bipartisan basis.
“I’m sure it probably would be (harder) for somebody else, but I know the atmosphere, I know how to work it. And there are some moderate Republicans on the other side that are wanting to get things done, and a lot of pieces of legislation that I have introduced in the past have been good, sound, outside-the-box thinking solutions that can work the best for everybody. All Montanans, not just our District…but House District 32 will always be front and center.”
Windy Boy says one of his goals is to take sunset deadlines off certain legislation.
“One is the language preservation, for example, and here one of the things that as you know, I got $6.5 million in that, and it gets renewed every four years. And that’s what I want to do, is to make it a base line item budget. That’s just one thing, like I said, that I plan on doing. The sky is always the limit. What ever good idea comes into play, I’m going to do it.”
G. Bruce Meyers
Meyers told New Media Broadcasters he was proud of the campaign he ran and that it was a clean race without any negative attacks.
Meyers was able to close the gap significantly after losing the 2018 race by nearly 1,000 votes to Windy Boy.
“The people are concerned about the future of the tribes, and with the COVID and the grocery shortages that we saw on the grocery shelves, a lot of people are starting to look at the food shortage and answers for the food shortage such as growing their own produce, butcher shops butchering their own beef, small businesses on the Reservation. So the economy and small business development was right at the top. So when I talked about those issues, that really resonated with the voters.”
And even though he lost this race, Meyers says he was satisfied with the Republican’s domination of the big races in Montana.
“I think it was awesome. To get back to government by the people, I think was the main reason. And with all the concerns about government overreach on COVID restrictions really resonated with a lot of people. They know that COVID is a very serious thing, but so is government overreach. And I think that might have been one of the factors in the statewide races.”
Meyers is undecided on whether he would run for political office again.
“It depends on what happens between now and (2022). If the economies are still not going on the reservations, and if the drugs are still rampant, and if the families are still being divided…if those issues are not addressed, those are always of concern to me. So I’ll see what I happens in the areas of the wrongly incarcerated, drug control, keeping families together, and starting small businesses. Those are always of concern and that’s what I’ve heard from the people. And if nobody is stepping forward to do that job for the people or listen to the people, you never know.”
Due to term limits, Windy Boy will be unable to run for reelection in 2022, so Meyers would face a different opponent if he were to run and win the Republican primary again.
