Mike Cooney, Democratic gubernatorial candidate | Facebook
Mike Cooney, Democratic gubernatorial candidate | Facebook
The Montana Republican Party said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney attempted to mislead voters when he called the Montana Chamber of Commerce rating he received, which House Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Bozeman), his opponent, mentioned, hogwash.
The state GOP said the 0% score means that, as the chamber sees it, Cooney is the last person the state should entrust an economic comeback with.
“This is a stark difference between me and Mike Cooney. Mike Cooney got a 0.0 rating from the Montana Chamber of Commerce," Gianforte said during the debate earlier this month. "Let me just say, that is not easy to do. You can’t support a single pro-business initiative, 0.0. What that means is any particular policy that came forward that might have helped a small business, he opposed it. He has supported over $1 billion in increased taxes for Montana. So, who did you trust to get our economy going? Someone who spent their life creating jobs or a career politician who has a 0.0 rating from the Montana Chamber?”
Cooney came back with calling the rating "hogwash."
“Greg, you know that’s hogwash," Cooney said during the debate. "And I just can’t believe you keep bringing that – I’ll tell you what, the record shows that on my watch 46,000 new jobs have found a home in Montana."