Montana May Bring the First Nose Ring to the U.S. Senate

After endorsements from MEA-MFT, AFL-CIO, and other big political players, Amanda Curtis may be the new nominee for the U.S. Senate out of Montana, but national politicos are already declaring the race an uphill battle.

Bill Whalen with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, who most recently covered the Montana Senate race in an article titled "Last Stand for Democrats in Montana Senate Race: Will Jeff Bridges Ride to the Rescue," says Curtis will need to stress her differences.

"What does she have going for her? She's thirty-four years old, she is sparkly and spritely, she will run a very strong media campaign, she will run very much on the fact that although she is a politician that she is not a politician, she'll play up, very much, the fact that she has a stud in her nose. Which, I think, would make her the first person in the Senate, if not in congress to have that designation. In other words, she'll run as a very, very different candidate verses the men Montana has been electing."

As a candidate, Curtis may be different from Iraq war veteran John Walsh, but Whalen doubts the differences will be enough to overcome advantages Republican candidate Steve Daines has in this race.

"It's just a really difficult climate for her," Whalen said. "We're now fast approaching the 75 day mark in this election, she'd have to go out and raise some money to get on television, and this race is pretty much looking like a goner for democrats at this point."

Whalen said the main reason the seat is considered by many to be a loss for Democrats is that it will be difficult to lure out-of-state money into Curtis’ campaign after the race has seen so much volatility.

Bill Whalen: