“We're very excited to have him on the team,” Brown said Tuesday. “He brings a lot to the plate. He's a family man, a businessman and a fifth-generation Montanan.”
Brown said both he and Daines are experienced businessmen who have signed both sides of the paycheck.
“Elections are about the future,” Daines said. “It's going to take a steady hand to guide our economy through what appear to be unsteady times.”
Daines said the Republican team will emphasize jobs and the economy and lay out plans for the more efficient operation of state government.
“We have school shortfalls,” Daines said. “We have to make the pie bigger for the revenue for public education. Montana hasn't accelerated our resource industry like some states have. We want to shift some of the burden from taxpayers to new energy developments.”
Brown, a state senator from Billings, and Daines will make their formal announcement during a seven-city swing through Montana on Wednesday and Thursday.
They are the only Republican team, so far, challenging Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, who are unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Daines said in September he wouldn't run for governor because he wanted to spend more time at home with his four children. However, he said Tuesday that his wife, Cindy, and children all encouraged him to run with Brown.
“Roy's already done a lot of the hard work,” Daines said.
The Bozeman man said he will continue to work full time during the campaign as a vice president for RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman high-tech firm, something he couldn't have done running for governor.
If the Republican team wins, Brown said he would assign much of the responsibilities for economic development to Daines because of his experience. Besides working for RightNow Technologies, Daines worked in management jobs for 13 years for Procter & Gamble in Iowa, Hong Kong and mainland China.
Last spring, Daines launched the GiveItBack.com Web site to urge Montanans to demand that Schweitzer return more of the state's $1 billion budget surplus to taxpayers.
The Montana Democratic Party filed a complaint against Daines that state Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth dismissed in June 2007 on grounds that he wasn't a candidate for political office.
The Democratic Party re-filed the complaint Tuesday. It charged that Daines, as president of GiveItBack.com, had “engaged in a pattern of misconduct, illegality and a violation of the letter and spirit of Montana campaign finance laws.”
In response, Daines said he will be stepping down as head of GiveItBack.com. He said the group is organized as a 501(c)(4) organization, which legally doesn't have to disclose its donors. He called it disappointing that the first thing Democrats want to do is to talk about politics.
“I'm happy to talk about how government is being run and what to do with a $1 billion surplus,” he said.
Schweitzer's campaign had no comment on Daines' candidacy, but Democratic Party spokesman Harper Lawson said there will be a clear contrast in the tickets.
“A Brown-Daines ticket represents the interests of the far right and the very far right, while a vote for Brian Schweitzer and John Bohlinger represents the opportunity to continue bipartisan, independent and effective leadership in Montana,” he said.
If elected, Daines said, Brown assured him he would play an active role as lieutenant governor.
“I'm too much of a Type A leader to be relegated to a role of ribbon-cutting and ceremonies,” Daines said. “What excites me about having Roy and me is you really get two people who have demonstrated leadership records in the business world of creating jobs.”
Steve Daines
Office sought: lieutenant governor
Office salary: $79,007
Political party: Republican
Age: 45
Birth date and place: Aug. 20, 1962, in Van Nuys, Calif. His parents returned to Montana when he was 1 year old.
Home: Bozeman
Occupation: vice president of RightNow Technologies
Family: Wife, Cindy, and four children, David, 17; Annie, 16; Michael, 13; Caroline, 11.
Education: Attended schools in Bozeman from kindergarten through college; graduated from Bozeman Senior High School, 1980; received bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University, 1984.
Past employment: Worked in management for Procter & Gamble, 1984-97. Worked for seven years in Iowa City, Iowa, and six years in Hong Kong and mainland China helping to start factories there and in production, marketing and sales. Moved back to Bozeman in 1997.
Military: none
Political experience: President of MSU College Republicans. Elected as Montana delegate committed to President Reagan, to the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas where he was one of the youngest delegates. Helped on several Montana Republican statewide campaigns. Founded the Web site, GiveItBack.com in April 2007 to urge Gov. Brian Schweitzer to return more of the $1 billion state surplus to taxpayers. Was state chairman of Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign in 2007-08.
On TV, in person
Republican gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown will announce he has picked Steve Daines as his running mate on TV in Kalispell at 9 p.m. Wednesday. He will appear in person at a breakfast event at 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the Blake Hall board room at Flathead Valley Community College. At 11 a.m. Thursday, he will appear at Western Montana Lighting, 3250 S. Reserve St.
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