Mike Lang announces MT. Senate candidacy

In a press release sent to several media installations last week, Rep. Mike Lang of Montana House District 35 announced he will be running for the Montana District 17 seat soon to be vacated by long-term Senator John Brenden.

“Senator Brendan has termed-out and I’ve done a lot of work farther eastern than us with my Ag business over the years,” Lang told the PCN last week. “And I have a lot of friends over there and we share the same mentality on life. I thought I could do a good job so I decided to run.”

Senate District 17 spans the north central and easttier of Montana and includes constituents in Hill, Blaine, Phillips, Valley, Daniels, Roosevelt and Sheridan counties.

Thus far, the HD 35 seat currently held by Lang -- which he will relinquish in his bid for the Montana Senate -- features two candidates vying for the position, Casey Knudsen of Malta and Mike Burns of Glasgow.

“They are both running a republican ticket and I commend both of them for jumping into the race and I’m sure they both have their own strong, personal attributes,” said Lang

As far as the business at hand in his current position as the representative of HD 35, Lang said he sits on three committees (State Economic Affairs Committee, the Montana Sage Grouse Team and the Railroad Service Commission.) and said some of the bigger issues he sees before him are how to implement the Sage Grouse Team and keep the federal government from overtaking the birds issues in Montana. Economically, Lang said that there is a big meeting in early February focusing on air ambulances.

“Frances Mahon is probably the shining star as far as air ambulances in Montana and my goal there is to make sure that the state doesn’t make some rules that effect the way we do business in Montana,” Lang said.

If elected to the state senate, Lang said some of the bigger issues he has his eye on are taxation in the state and infrastructure. Lang said that his campaign will be ran through local media and county fairs, even though others told him that is not the way to campaign.

“That’s the way we do things in Eastern Montana,” Lang said. “I’m ready for the challenge and committed to making sure the hard-working people in north central and eastern Montana have a voice in government and in our future,” Lang said. “I am committed to limiting government in scope and to making our communities strong and healthy.”