Montana Gov. Steve Bullock enters Democratic presidential race, touts his red-state and rural bona fides

Steve Bullock

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has entered the Democratic race for president, making him arguably the most rural candidate in the crowded field.

Bullock "has made his political calling card that of a Democrat who has flourished in the rural West: He has been elected statewide three times, once for attorney general and twice in his bids for governor, each time in a year that his party’s presidential nominee was losing Montana," Jonathan Martin reports for The New York Times.

Of particular note — and he notes it often — Bullock was elected in 2016 in a state that President Trump carried, making him the only Democratic governor to do so. He hopes that will position him as a candidate who can sway Republican and independent voters, Martin reports.

However, "with little name recognition beyond his native Montana, he’s got a climb as tall as Granite Peak ahead of him. Joe Biden, who leads in early polls, seems to have a firm grip on the White Moderate Dude role," Eric Lutz reports for Vanity Fair. "How Bullock, an obscure figure with a pretty cookie-cutter message to give everyone a “fair shot,” can make it where [Elizabeth] Warren, Kamala Harris, and others haven’t so far isn’t clear. But that hasn’t stopped a host of other long-shots from making their move — and it certainly isn’t stopping him.