Montana's Republican governor on Wednesday will face his Democratic challenger in likely their only debate this election season in a state tilting toward the GOP.
Gov. Greg Gianforte at first dismissed Ryan Busse, a former firearms industry executive, as not a “serious candidate” and refused to debate the Democrat because he hadn't released his tax returns.
Busse responded by releasing 10 years of income tax records, setting the stage for the debate hosted by ABC Fox Montana.
Gianforte's election by a wide margin in 2020 — with backing from former President Donald Trump — ended a 16-year run of Democratic governors in Montana.
The wealthy former technology executive spent more than $7.5 million of his own money in the 2020 race, and has since overseen a decrease in individual income taxes and an increase in residential property taxes in Montana.
The state balanced its budget and had record-low unemployment under Gianforte.
He signed laws blocking gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and limiting access to abortion, but those have been blocked by courts.
A Republican supermajority in the Legislature gave him power to directly appoint judges and justices when mid-term vacancies occur and also funded charter schools, a longtime Gianforte goal.
Busse, who is from Kalispell, has sought to portray Gianforte as wealthy and out of touch with ordinary citizens. He has accused Gianforte of using his personal wealth to reach office and then standing by as housing costs made parts of Montana unaffordable for many.
A former vice president at firearms company Kimber Manufacturing, Busse has said his disagreement with aggressive marketing of military-type assault rifles caused him to exit the gun industry.
Tax returns show Busse and his wife earned about $260,000 annually over the past decade.
Gianforte’s tech career began in New Jersey. He moved to Bozeman in 1995 and founded RightNow technologies, which was eventually sold to software company Oracle for nearly $2 billion.
A criminal case put an early stain on Gianforte's political career. He was charged with a misdemeanor in 2017 when he body-slammed a reporter, but he went on to win a seat in the U.S. House in a special election and won reelection to the seat in 2018.
FILE - Ryan Busse, senior advisor at Giffords Law Center, listens during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing, July 27, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
FILE - Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Montana Senate and House of Representatives, Jan. 25, 2023, inside the state Capitol in Helena, Mont. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — October's supermoon is the closest of the year and it's teaming up with a comet for a rare stargazing two-for-one.
The third of four supermoons this year, it will be 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) away Wednesday night, making it seem even bigger and brighter than in August and September. It will reach its full lunar phase Thursday.
In a twist of cosmic fate, a comet is in the neighborhood. Discovered last year, comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is now prominent in the Northern Hemisphere after wowing stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere.
The moonlight will wash out some of the comet’s tail, but it’s still worth a look after sunset, said NASA's Bill Cooke.
“Most astronomers hate the full moon because its bright light messes up observing other objects. So it’s a bit hard for us to wax poetic about it even if it’s the biggest supermoon of 2024,” he said in an email.
Better catch the comet; it may never return. But don't fret if you miss Thursday's supermoon. The fourth and final supermoon of the year will rise on Nov. 15.
More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.
A supermoon obviously isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.
There’s a quartet of supermoons this year.
The one in August was 224,917 miles (361,970 kilometers) away. September's was nearly 3,000 miles (4,484 kilometers) closer the night of Sept. 17 into the following morning. A partial lunar eclipse also unfolded that night, visible in much of the Americas, Africa and Europe as Earth’s shadow fell on the moon, resembling a small bite.
October's supermoon is the year’s closest at 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) from Earth, followed by the November supermoon at a distance of 224,853 miles (361,867 kilometers).
Scientists point out that only the keenest observers can discern the subtle differences. It’s easier to detect the change in brightness — a supermoon can be 30% brighter than average.
With the U.S. and other countries ramping up lunar exploration with landers and eventually astronauts, the moon beckons brighter than ever.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Steam rises from cooling towers of a power plant as the moon rises near Senftenberg, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas makes an appearance in the western night sky as amateur photographers Nolan Letellier, left, and Link Jackson observe on a ridge near the Dry Creek Trailhead in Boise, Idaho. Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 (AP Photo/Kyle Green)
The full moon rises in the over a beer sign in the outfield at Kauffman Stadium during a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
