The cost of living is dominating a debate between Montana’s Republican governor and his Democratic challenger

The question of how to help people struggling with the rising cost of living in Montana – driven in part by people inspired to move there by the hit show “Yellowstone” – dominated a debate Wednesday between the Republican governor of the state and his Democratic challenger.

While Democrat Ryan Busse tried to portray Gov. Greg Gianforte as out of touch with people who want to afford housing, Gianforte pointed to the state’s strong economy as he argued for a second term.

“I wake up every day looking for ways to help Montanans prosper, and we are succeeding,” Gianforte said. “There is still more to do.”

Gianforte’s personal wealth took center stage as Busse, a former firearms industry executive, highlighted the state’s rising cost of living – for which Gianforte blamed President Joe Biden’s administration.

Busse criticized Gianforte, a multimillionaire technology businessman, for being more willing to give tax breaks to the rich than to help ordinary citizens.

“The rest of us have been hit with the largest property tax increase in the history of this state, and people across the state are suffering because of it,” Busse said. “Now you may not be hurting – you have four mansions and flying around in a private jet – but the rest of us are hurting.”

Gianforte said Montana has prospered over the past four years thanks in part to tax cuts and rebates.

The income and property tax breaks approved in 2023 amounted to up to $3,500 for a couple living in their home if they had paid that much in taxes.

“Montanans of all income levels have benefited. “Record tax refunds, record job creation and wage growth, we increased funding for education and law enforcement and made Montana completely debt-free,” Gianforte said.

While Montanans received property tax refunds, Gianforte Busse agreed more could be done. He proposed a task force recommendation to reduce property taxes for homeowners, landlords, businesses and farmers and ranches.

“We need lasting reform,” Gianforte said.

The governor should have followed the example of his predecessors and made cuts already, said Busse.

No one disputed that one host cited the show “Yellowstone” as inspiring some to move to Montana — and change states in the process.

Gianforte initially dismissed Busse as not a “serious candidate” and refused to debate the Democrat because he had not released his tax returns.

Busse responded by releasing 10 years of income tax records, setting the stage for the debate moderated by ABC Fox Montana.

Gianforte’s election by a wide margin in 2020 — with the support of former President Donald Trump — ended a 16-year tenure of Democratic governors in Montana.

Gianfote spent more than $7.5 million of his own money in the 2020 race and has since delivered a cut in individual income taxes and an increase in home property taxes in Montana.

He signed laws blocking gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and restricting access to abortions, but these were blocked by the courts.

Busse, a former vice president at firearms company Kimber Manufacturing, said his opposition to the aggressive marketing of military assault rifles led him to leave the gun industry.

Tax returns show that Busse and his wife earned about $260,000 annually over the last decade.

Gianforte’s tech career began in New Jersey. He moved to Bozeman in 1995 and founded RightNow Technologies, which was eventually sold to software company Oracle for nearly $2 billion.

A criminal case called Gianforte’s political career into question early on. He was charged with a misdemeanor in 2017 for physically beating a reporter, but won a U.S. House seat in a special election and won re-election to that seat in 2018.