Ryan Busse in 2024 MT Governor's race

On Abortion: State abortion restrictions threaten women's health care

On Abortion: Hardliners won't stop at merely restricting abortion

On Civil Rights: It's not my business who loves whom, or how people identify

On Corporations: Surplus went to tax breaks for corporations & wealthy people

On Drugs: Opposed veto of popular bill allocating marijuana taxes

On Education: Tribal education shouldn't be through somebody else's lens

On Education: Improve schools by fully funding public schools and teachers

On Education: Adamant that no public dollars goes to religious schools

On Energy & Oil: Montana can lead on dealing with reality of climate change

On Families & Children: Protested state rejecting federal money for child nutrition

On Families & Children: Supported federal program to help feed schoolchildren

On Government Reform: Arrogant for trying to withhold public records

A judge found that the Gianforte administration did not have the right to withhold these documents and that the Montana Constitution's protection of the right to know was made specifically for "precisely this type of government document."

On Gun Control: Universal background check/red flag law not infringements

On Jobs: People should have the right to repair equipment they own

Among those is the right to repair. As someone who grew up in an agriculture and ranching community, he said, the idea that people aren't allowed to repair their own equipment is ridiculous, especially considering how much they're paying for that equipment in the first place.

On Principles & Values: Running as a champion for our Montana way of life

On Principles & Values: Condemning Nazis should be easy, Republicans can't do it

On Tax Reform: Tax breaks for renters and homeowners, not corporations

On Technology: TikTok metadata could be legitimate Chinese security threat

A: I don't know all the intelligence behind the TikTok thing. I think there could be a legitimate Chinese security threat with the way that metadata is shared with the Chinese communist government. Taking the Chinese metadata threat seriously, that I think he and I probably agree on.

On Abortion: Protect a woman's Constitutional right to health decisions

A: Protecting freedom, especially a woman's Constitutional right to make whatever private decisions are best for her health and her family and her future--including the right to abortion and the right to decide whether or when to have a family--without interference from any government or politician.

On Energy & Oil: Climate crisis will and must take center stage

A: Affordability. Under the current administration, Montana has become the most expensive it's ever been, without any of the visionary ideas or policies needed to protect affordability. We must build an economy that's good for small businesses, public servants, public school students and educators, and family farms and ranchers. I also believe the climate crisis will and must take center stage over the next decade. It is an issue that will impact our greatest industries (especially our recreation economy and family agriculture), our businesses and our future.

On Health Care: Restore 133,000 Montanans to life-saving Medicaid

On Jobs: Veto right-to-work rules in unionized workplaces

Labor: Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?
• Ryan Busse (D): Easier. "Unions are essential for… ensuring better pay and safe working conditions." "Grow organized labor." "Union members are the heart and soul of our communities." Will veto "so-called ‘right to work'" legislation, which allows employees in a unionized workplace to not pay union dues.
• Greg Gianforte (R): Harder. In Congress, voted against the PRO Act, which would expand workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain and overrule state "right to work" laws. His 2020 gubernatorial campaign supported right-to-work legislation.

On Environment: Opposes state management of federal public lands

Environment: Loosen or tighten environmental regulations?
• Ryan Busse (D): Tighten. Would rebuild the MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Opposes "any effort to limit access" to public lands or "transfer management of federal public lands to states."
• Greg Gianforte (R): Mixed. Secured $50 million from the EPA "to improve the resilience of our forests, agriculture industry, and waterways." Opposed a federal effort to prohibit new coal leases.

On Government Reform: Make it easier for people to vote

Voting Rules: Make voting harder or easier?
• Ryan Busse (D): Easier. "We will make it easier for people to vote" and "do everything we can to increase the franchise, not reduce" it. "It's not right to have armed people scaring voters at polling places."
• Greg Gianforte (R): Harder. In 2021 signed bills ending same-day voter registration and creating new photo ID requirements. In 2024 the Montana Supreme Court ruled the laws unconstitutional.

On Immigration: Leave immigration as federal policy; not for governor

Immigration: How to handle immigration?
• Ryan Busse (D): Unclear. Says immigration is matter of federal policy: "The governor of Montana [can't] impact that federal law-making process directly."
• Greg Gianforte (R): With nine Republican governors, offered a 10-point plan for securing the border. Said the state may need to step in if the federal government fails to enforce immigration laws. In 2024, directed Montana National Guard to help Texas with border security.

On Environment: I want to facilitate what's next, not hold on to what was

On Free Trade: Ban foreign adversaries from owning our farmland

On Gun Control: Left gun industry frustrated about marketing assault rifles

Their main source of income prior to 2020 was firearms company Kimber Manufacturing, where Busse served as vice president. The bulk of their income in recent years came from Aspen Communications, a public relations firm run by Swan-Busse.

Gianforte obtained massive wealth though the 2011 sale of his Bozeman, Montana-based software company, RightNow Technologies, to Oracle Corp. His income over the past decade primarily came from profits on investments and averaged more than $6 million annually, according to his returns. He is paid about $120,000 a year for being governor.

On Health Care: Medicaid expansion improved the lives of countless people

Tanner Smith: We need to provide some assistance for the healthcare of children and those folks in need of temporary coverage. I also believe people who can work need to work and provide for themselves, including their health insurance. There needs to be sideboards and curbs on Medicaid or it will become financially unsustainable like every governmental assistance program. Those of us in the private sector don't work 7 days a week so everyone can have freebies.

On Immigration: Must have a secure border, but this is a federal issue

On Tax Reform: Released his tax returns publicly, to ensure debate occurs

The release of the tax records comes after Gianforte last week dismissed Busse as not a "serious candidate" and suggested he wouldn't debate him since the Democrat had not released his tax returns. "It's a complete charade," Busse told AP after providing his returns. "If this is the singular reason why Gianforte will not debate, I'm not going to let him have that excuse."

Last week, [Gianforte's campaign wrote] a memo to reporters that Gianforte was prepared to debate a credible candidate but suggested that was not Busse. "The first step to getting a debate is we need a serious candidate who releases his tax returns just like every other candidate has done, and then we can talk about scheduling a debate," Gianforte said in an Aug. 28 interview with KECI-TV in Missoula.