With only 40 days until the 2024 general election, candidates for Senate District (SD) 38 are ramping up their campaign efforts, with Becky Beard, the Republican incumbent formerly of SD 40, and Democrat Jeffrey Benson, a Boulder rancher with more than 30 years of experience in corporate management, vying to join the Montana State Legislature in January.
SD 38 was created through legislative redistricting in 2023. It now encompasses Jefferson, Powell, and Granite counties, a massive new territory forcing candidates to mobilize across a vast distance in order to reach voters.
“I did the bulk of my traveling before the primary, but have had a few foot surgeries since then and haven’t quite been so mobile,” said Beard in an interview with The Monitor. “The district is so large now there isn’t really a neat way to circumnavigate it. It’s wonderful fun but also hard to be efficient when trying to get out and reach people.”
Beard, over the course of her reelection campaign, has raised roughly $29,000 dollars. She has deployed $24,000 for marketing and operational expenses, and intends to use the last of her funding on a final advertising campaign. Benson, who has raised roughly $6500, has yet to engage in a significant advertising campaign, but intends to do so in the final weeks leading to the general election.
“I’ve been running across the counties and spending a lot of time westward, it seems,” said Benson. “I’ve held back on [campaign spending] until now, and haven’t yet spent too seriously beyond travel. But I haven’t taken money from corporations or special interest groups, and, given that most of the people I talk to are working class or retired, I’m pleased to try and make it with what I’ve got.”
Both Benson and Beard expressed interest, should they be elected, in serving on the Senate Taxation Committee. Both candidates, in their campaign messaging, are placing focus on addressing rising property taxes across Montana, as well as reevaluating the income tax schedule.
“My background as a financial advisor, and a consultant, makes me very well suited to the tax committee,” said Benson. “Everyone’s aware that property taxes are out of control, but there’s an income tax discrepancy too. We need to lower the tax percentage for working people, and try to more fairly source tax dollars from our wealthiest.” Benson also expressed interest in serving on the Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee, to help address property and disaster insurance accessibility for rural Montanans.
Beard said: “SD 38 is overwhelmingly rural, and agriculture based. I think committee assignments need to align to the expertise of the official, but also to the interests of the district they represent. Joining the Taxation Committee would fit my wheelhouse quite strongly, and also let me speak to the concerns of my constituents.” Beard has also expressed interest in joining the Agriculture, Education, and Local Government committees.
Both candidates are focused on a number of other critical issues, including natural resource management, public infrastructure security, and rural healthcare accessibility. Both cited the closure of Pyramid Lumber in Seeley Lake as a troubling example of the need to better manage the state’s natural resources. And they raised the specter of the vulnerability of public water systems.
Benson has been officially endorsed by Planned Parenthood and the Montana AFL-CIO union, while Beard is endorsed by the Montana Family Foundation, Gun Owners of America, and the American Conservative Union.
“I think there are real differences between Becky (Beard) and I, and I’m not sure she sees anything wrong with the direction that the state is going,” said Benson. “I think there’s a real lack of accountability coming from state Republicans, and, on issues like property taxes and healthcare, it’s been pretty spellbinding to see.”
“Other than a chance to meet at a few candidate forums, I don’t know Mr. Benson particularly well,” said Beard. “I’d say he has quite a professional resume, and a background in investments that’s to his credit. I look forward to seeing more of him through this final stretch of campaigning.”
