Governor candidate has lunch at Dawg House

State Senator Al Olszewski of Kalispell stopped in Ekalaka and met with a few members of the community at Dawg House Pub on Tuesday afternoon.

Dr. Olszewski, an orthopedic surgeon and Air Force Veteran, is one of three GOP candidates running for governor in the 2020 election. U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Tim Fox are also running.

Three other Republican candidates who filed to run for governor — Peter Ziehli, Gary Perry, and Secretary of State Corey Stapleton — have withdrawn from the race.

The two front-runner Democrats in the race are Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney and House Minority Leader Rep. Casey Schreiner.

In Ekalaka, Dr. Olszewski discussed local problems and statewide issues. Some of his top priorities, he said, are fixing the child protective system, rebalancing the relationship between the governor’s office and legislature, and access to public lands. He told those who sat with him at the pub that his biggest asset is listening, something he often practiced while consulting patients as a surgeon.

“I want to do right by all of Montana, not just Helena,” he said.

Olszewski is a third generation Montanan and a biological and adoptive father of six children. In 2018 he received the Flathead’s Best Orthopedist Award.

State campaign finance reports recording contributions through June of this year show that Olszewski has raised $32,524 to compete in the Republican primary, versus $225,541 for Fox and $339,853 for Gianforte. These numbers exclude personal loans Gianforte and Olszewski have given their campaigns of $50,000 and $100,000, respectively.