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Steve Bullock served as Montana’s attorney general before being elected governor in 2012.
His presidential campaign announcement video highlighted his successful efforts to expand Medicaid, his support for same-sex marriage and his bipartisan effort to ban dark money from the state’s politics.
Here’s where the Democrat stands on key issues:
Climate crisis: Bullock has praised the Green New Deal, the broad plan to address renewable-energy infrastructure and climate change proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, for “building up conversation” on combating climate change, but he’s stopped short of endorsing it. “We can do better with a more focused plan,” he told The Washington Post in June. The governor supports rejoining the Paris climate accord, the landmark 2015 deal on global warming targets that Trump has pledged to abandon, and believes many of the goals can be achieved more quickly than outlined in the accord. Bullock believes the US can reach zero emissions before 2050.
The economy: The governor has said he would end Trump’s trade war, which he says hurts rural communities. Bullock’s campaign told The Atlantic that he now opposes how the Trans-Pacific Partnership — an 11-nation trade deal negotiated under Obama that the Trump administration has withdrawn from — was written. Still, a campaign spokesman told The Atlantic he believes the withdrawal has left America “on the sidelines.” Bullock supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Education: To make college affordable, Bullock has proposed freezing college tuition in Montana and floated reducing the federal student loan interest rate. He also supports expanding eligibility for Pell grants. Bullock has said he believes in providing a path so two-year college is “available for all” but noted in a May interview that “we’ve also got to recognize that not everybody’s going to go to college,” pushing instead for professionally recognized certificates and apprenticeships.
Health care: Bullock opposes Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” proposal, which would create a government-run health care plan and essentially eliminate the private insurance industry. Instead, Bullock says, the Affordable Care Act should be improved. He supports a buy-in public option for health care while keeping private insurance.
Immigration: Bullock has advocated continuing Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as minors, and he is one of 11 governors who urged Congress in 2017 to support these immigrants. In 2018, after Trump signed a memo to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, Bullock refused to deploy guardsmen.
Gun violence: Bullock supports banning so-called assault weapons and limiting access to high-capacity magazines. He supports universal background checks and so-called “red flag” laws, which allow families and police to petition a judge to temporarily block someone’s access to firearms if there is credible concern they might hurt themselves or others. Additionally, he supports age minimums for those who can purchase firearms.
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