Meet Drew Ruchti, one of our Montana Field Reps., who has been talking to voters for the upcoming Special Election.
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Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and where you’re from?
I’m from Pocatello, Idaho. My dad was a State Representative in Idaho for about 4 years as the house minority leader there. I kind of got into politics after he organized a campaign called “Fair Pocatello”, which was a non-discrimination ordinance campaign in Idaho that wasn’t very common at the time. So through working with him, I ended up developing a love for politics and just a love for helping people who need some help.
Q: After Idaho, what brought you to Montana?
I was going to go to college in Montana, but after seeing a Denise Juneau speech, I ended up working for the Juneau campaign last year. I just felt called to do something political after seeing what the climate was like in the presidential campaign last year.
Q: What specifically about PTP appealed to you?
I really like that we aren’t doing persuasion, and we are trying to make as many people as possible have the ability to vote. I also really like that we kind of have our own free range in that we are not with the party. Because some people right now are disenfranchised with the party system, it’s easier to get people to open up if you’re not in a party at the time.
Q: How long have you lived in Montana for?
Two years. I lived in Missoula for one of them and have been in Butte for the past year. I definitely prefer Missoula, but Butte has an older charm to it. It’s really interesting to knock on doors here because you’ll knock on a ton of buildings where you can’t tell if people still live there or if it’s something leftover from the 1800s. It’s really interesting to see all the history as well when you’re walking through. Missoula just is kind of where my heart is — a really nice place and just beautiful.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Montana?
I am a big fisherman! I do a lot of fly fishing and backpacking across Montana. One of my favorite spots is Silver Creek, on the border of Idaho and Montana.
Q: What do you recommend to someone visiting do in Montana?
Definitely have to go for some sort of a hike. You have to get out into the outdoors in some way. The towns are not where it’s at; it’s more about all of the outdoor recreation, and the public lands that we have here are just gorgeous. And you can literally drive five minutes outside of town, pull off the road, and you have the ability to hike wherever you want to.
Q: With the election only a few days away, what’s the mood been like been like in Montana?
Honestly, everyone is sick of Greg Gianforte. He has commercials on everything, every five seconds. Every time we knock on doors and say we are not with “Gianforte”, people are excited. I just haven’t seen that many people who are passionate about him, even if they are Republicans, they just seem tentative and almost scared to vote for him.
Q: Based on your conversations at the door, how are you feeling about this week’s election?
I’m feeling good, I think Rob Quist has a good chance. I think Democrats are going to be motivated to get out to the polls, so I feel good about that.
