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HELENA - Republicans say John McCain now has a better chance in Montana's unique GOP caucus - open to only about 2,000 party volunteers and officeholders - after getting rid of a state chairman many in that group saw as a traitor. McCain dumped Montana's maverick lieutenant governor recently in favor of former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, much more popular with GOP insiders despite losing his re-election bid in 2006 amid suspicions over connections to a Washington, D.C., lobbying scandal. The move comes as McCain has spent time and money nailing down his conservative credentials in other states. In Montana,...

Burns, a Republican, narrowly lost reelection to a fourth term in 2006 after Democrats made his relationship with Abramoff a key issue. Abramoff is at the center of a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and Bush administration officials.

The Department of Justice confirms former Montana Senator Burns is no longer part of an ongoing investigation of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In an exclusive phone call to the News Station's Aaron Flint from his Washington, DC office, Senator Burns is calling it good news and says he feels "so great that it's unbelievable." Burns then released a prepared statement, saying the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section has notified his attorney Ralph Caccia that it (DOJ) has ended its investigation. Burns lost a close race to now Democratic Senator Jon Tester after Democrats questioned Burns about his ties to...

WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Conrad Burns is no longer part of a federal investigation of jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Burns, R-Mont., narrowly lost re-election to a fourth term in 2006 after Democrats made his relationship with Abramoff a central issue. Abramoff is the key figure in a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and officials in the Bush administration. Burns said in a statement that he "never doubted that the baseless and politically motivated charges leveled against me would be found to be without merit." "My family...

Defeated U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., refused to concede Wednesday saying there remain votes yet to be counted in his tight race against the declared winner, Democrat Jon Tester. Burns, who has not commented to reporters on the race since the votes were counted Tuesday night, released a statement at 1:47 p.m. “Jon Tester ran a good race and has the lead right now, but it is extremely close,” Burns said. “The state of Montana has a process in place, and it is our obligation to see it through. There are still votes out there that deserve to be counted....

HELENA - Montanans say they are slightly more likely to vote for Republicans than Democrats in the state's legislative races, a new Gazette State Poll shows. By a margin of five points, 47 percent to 42 percent, voters said they were more likely to vote for Republicans. That edge is greater than the poll's margin of error - plus- or minus-4 points - but not so large that Republicans have a clear lead. Only 11 percent of those surveyed said they weren't sure which party they would support. The split reflects the makeup of the Montana Legislature. Currently, the state's...

Just two weeks ago, Republican Sen. Conrad Burns appeared dead in trying for a fourth term. Polls gave his Democratic opponent, State Sen. Jon Tester, a double-digit lead, and that caused party leaders in Washington to write off Burns. But less than a week before the election, Burns has closed to within a few percentage points of Tester. The reason can be found in this Burns television ad: "Jon Tester...raised taxes on more than 16,000 small businesses....Tester supports a $2,000 tax increase on families. Tester's a politician and a taxer who'll say anything to get elected." ...Burns is pounding Tester...

President George W. Bush is spending the latter part of this week campaigning in the West for congressional candidates. Thursday, Bush will be at the MetraPark Arena in Billings. Members of the public attending the event will be admitted to the building between 8 and 10:30 a.m., after which the doors will be closed. Bush's touch-and-go on behalf of Sen. Conrad Burns, Rep. Denny Rehberg and local Republican candidates will cost the Montana Republican Party several thousand dollars. "I am not entirely sure" how much, said Chuck Denowh, executive director of the state GOP. "But we will pay for all...

"He was for the joke before he was against it." [Kathryn Jean Lopez] VPOTUS Cheney in Montana, as prepared for delivery: Time and time again, we're seeing examples of Democratic Party leaders apparently having lost their perspective concerning the nature of the enemy we face, and the need to wage this fight aggressively. No sharper example can be found than the Democratic Party chairman himself, Howard Dean, who said the capture of Saddam Hussein didn't make America any safer. And maybe it should be no surprise that such a party would turn its back on a man like Senator Joe...

Don't let the flat top haircut fool you. Jon Tester is a much a liberal as Barney Frank. This material is from mt-gop@mailman.montana.com Read this material and you will see why we must support Senator Burns. Send him a donation today. A tour of liberal locales and encounters with left wing lunatics “Tonight Jon Tester was on the road, rolling into San Francisco to be the guest of honor at a fundraiser hosted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. While Tester was the toast of the town tonight, he was also joined by a certified sweetheart of the liberals -...

Montana Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), a Republican in a tight re-election race, flew on a private plane chartered by Vonage Holdings Corp. just days after he pushed legislation that the company has advocated for more than a year. Burns accompanied Vonage lobbyist Frank Cavaliere on the company's chartered plane to and from the "13th Annual Burns Classic Golf Weekend" in Bigfork, Mont., on Saturday. Cavaliere and a Burns spokesman both confirmed the plane trip to The Associated Press on Monday.

Letter: Burns greatest senator in Montana's history Montanans have a great opportunity to keep Sen. Conrad Burns. Burns has done more for Montana than any other senator in the history of the state. He has funded veterans' clinics, well staffed with local MDs, and rural medical facilities throughout Montana. Burns is a passionate advocate for the citizens of Montana. He has common sense; is not afraid to say what is on his mind; and when he is wrong, he will admit it. Do Democrats do that? He is a true advocate for agriculture, small and large business, free markets, our...

BELGRADE, Mont. - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record), whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night." During a fundraiser Wednesday with first lady Laura Bush, the three-term Montana senator talked about terrorism, tax cuts and the money he has brought to his state. Burns is one of the more vulnerable Senate incumbents, facing a tough challenge from Democrat Jon Tester. He has drawn criticism in recent weeks for calling his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., seemed to enjoy usurping courtesies by stepping forward to introduce Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., at a press conference Monday. "I'm the leader," Frist said to Burns as Burns was about to introduce the GOP's point man in the Senate. Frist's leadership skills will be tested during September as he has an ambitious agenda for legislation before Congress goes home at the beginning of October to campaign for the midterm elections Nov. 7. Frist said he hopes to get through conference committees and on to President Bush bills dealing with port security, the congressional response...

Senator Jokes About House Painter Montana Republican calls his house painter 'nice little Guatemalan man' WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2006 By By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WriterAssociated Press Writer Associated Press Writer (AP) Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as "a nice little Guatemalan man" and suggested that worker as well as employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally. "The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see...

The most recent Rasmussen Reports election poll in Montana shows incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns and Democrat Jon Tester tied at 47% (see crosstabs). This month’s results mark an improvement for Burns, who trailed Tester by seven points in last month’s poll and by four points in May. Tester's support among fellow Democrats has slipped from 90% to 84%. Burns now gets 14% of the vote from Democrats, up from 7% a month ago. The race had been leaning towards the Democrats, but Rasmussen Reports now rates it as a toss up. Last fall, Burns had a double digit lead...

Sen. Conrad Burns has issued a written apology for having an "altercation" at a Billings airport last weekend with members of a hot shot firefighting crew about the management of a 92,000-acre blaze in eastern Montana. Jennifer McKee of the Lee State Bureau broke the story on Thursday, reporting on an account from state firefighting operations that Burns criticized a member of the Augusta Hot Shots from Virginia for doing a "poor job" and not listening to ranchers. Today, Lee's Chuck Johnson reports on the Burns apology and includes this little nugget of a quote from Burns in the original...

Democrat Jon Tester leads Republican Senator Conrad Burns 50% to 43% making Burns the second most vulnerable Senator this year (Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum is still the most vulnerable). This is the first Rasmussen Reports election poll in Montana since since Tester won his party's primary victory to become the Democrat's nominee.

The fight for control of the House is getting more ink than the battle for control of the Senate, but several recent shifts in individual Senate races merit attention. All year, talk about the Democrats' chances of taking the Senate has focused on the five most endangered Republican incumbents. They are, roughly in order of vulnerability, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Conrad Burns of Montana, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Jim Talent of Missouri. The discussions then turn to the second tier of vulnerable Republicans, speculating whether Democrats can perhaps pick up a sixth seat (the...

Once burned, twice shy: That’s simply another way of saying that I’m more cautious about handicapping the Montana Senate race than I am other Senate contests. Just days before the 2000 elections, my newsletter moved GOP Sen. Conrad Burns from “Toss-up” to “Lean Takeover.” That rating change was based on information I had gathered about late polling data showing Burns well under 50 percent in his bid for a third term and Democratic challenger Brian Schweitzer pulling even with Burns. From that evidence, I concluded that the Senator was likely to lose to Schweitzer, a likable, energetic Democrat who had...