Tester, Racicot, Bullock Fill Helena Venue for Community Conversation

Brothers Tapworks hit its limit of just under 200 people by 5:40 p.m. Thursday, well before the scheduled start of a "community conversation" organized by Project Paperclip that brought former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and former governors Marc Racicot and Steve Bullock together on one stage in downtown Helena.

The venue carries an added layer of symbolism: Bullock opened Brothers Tapworks with his brother after leaving the governor's office in 2021, making it the backdrop for one of the more politically charged evenings the capital city has seen in recent memory.

The three men were sharply critical of the Trump administration across several fronts, taking aim at what they described as risky and necessary military action in Iran, the tax cuts and tighter restrictions on programs like Medicaid included in last year's "One Big Bill," and Trump's criticisms of news outlets.

The gathering also surfaced the complicated math of Montana's upcoming U.S. Senate race. Five Democratic candidates are running to win their party's nomination, while former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar is attempting to get on the ballot as an independent. Reports have suggested Tester viewed an independent campaign as having a stronger chance to win in Montana, though some Democrats have warned that Bodnar would split the opposition vote and hand the seat to the Republican candidate.

That tension produced one of the evening's sharpest moments when an audience member asked the three leaders directly: if their goal was to defeat the Republican, did they believe either Bodnar or the eventual Democratic nominee should drop out to allow the other to consolidate support? The supplied reporting does not include the panel's response to the question.

Project Paperclip organized the March 20 event, though no additional background on the group's mission or prior events was immediately available.