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Rick Hill
| Rick Hill | ||
 | ||
| Candidate for | ||
| Governor of Montana | ||
| Party | Republican | |
| Prior offices | ||
| U.S. Congress | ||
| 1996-2001 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | Aitkin Secondary (1964) | |
| Bachelor's | St. Cloud University (1968) | |
| J.D. | Concord Law School (2005) | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | December 30, 1946 | |
| Place of birth | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | |
| Websites | ||
| Personal website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
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The information about this individual is current as of when his or her last campaign ended. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors |
Biography
Hill is a retired insurance company executive. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1997-2001, retiring due to vision problems.[2]
Education
- Aitkin Secondary, 1964
- St. Cloud University, 1968
- Concord Law School, 2005
Elections
2012
Hill was the Republican candidate for Governor of Montana in 2012. He and his running mate, state Senator Jon Sonju, defeated Bob Fanning, Neil Livingstone, Jim Lynch, Ken Miller, Jim O'Hara and Corey Stapleton in the June 5th primary election.[3]
Hill lost against Steve Bullock (D), Ron Vandevender (L) and Bill Coate (I) in the general election on November 6, 2012.
According to the website Daily Kos, this race was one of nine top-ballot 2012 races that contained Libertarian candidates who received more total votes than was the difference between the Democratic winner and the GOP runner-up. In this case, Ron Vandevender took in over 9,000 more votes than the number that separated Bullock and Hill.[4]
| Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Montana General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Steve Bullock and John E. Walsh |
48.9% | 236,450 | |
| Republican | Rick Hill and Jon Sonju | 47.3% | 228,879 | |
| Libertarian | Ron Vandevender and Marc Mulcahy | 3.8% | 18,160 | |
| Total Votes | 483,489 | |||
| Election Results via Montana Secretary of State. | ||||
| Governor/Lt. Governor of Montana, Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Rick Hill & Jon Sonju |
34.4% | 46,802 |
| Corey Stapleton & Bob Keenan | 18.1% | 24,661 |
| Ken Miller & Bill Gallagher | 18% | 24,496 |
| Jim O'Hara & Scott Swingley | 12.2% | 16,653 |
| Neil Livingstone & Ryan Zinke | 8.8% | 12,038 |
| Jim Lynch & Al Olszewski | 6.1% | 8,323 |
| Bob Fanning & Joel Boniek | 2.3% | 3,087 |
| Total Votes | 136,060 | |
| Election Results Via: Montana Secretary of State | ||
Issues
Hill "is pro-life, supports traditional marriage and opposes radical sex education" in Montana's schools. On his campaign website, he highlighted the following areas:
- Jobs & the economy: Cutting taxes, priority budgeting, improving property rights, benefiting from Montana's natural resource wealth, putting Montana first[5]
- Agriculture: "I stand in firm support of private property rights and eliminating government interference in property management, both from the state and federal government... I will fight to ensure that Montana's agricultural products are competitive in the world marketplace."[6]
- Responsible government Lowering taxes and responsible spending[7]
- Energy & natural resources: Hill wants to utilize Montana's oil and gas reserve "to their full extent" and "work to minimize frivolous lawsuits and restrictive federal regulations that inhibit development."[8]
- Conservative values: Hill is a "strong advocate of preserving Second Amendment rights," believes that "life begins at the moment of conception," and believes the "federal government continues to grasp for power that rightfully lies with the state of Montana and the individuals that reside here."[9]
- Education: Hill supports a diversified curriculum to meet the needs of individual students, ensuring that "funding is available to hire the brightest instructors and purchase the most advanced equipment to elevate education in Montana," expanding the number charter schools and implementing a voucher system[10]
- Wolf Management: Hill pledges his administration will implement a plan that would create two zones: a wolf aggressive management zone in Western Montana and a wolf no tolerance zone in Central and Eastern Montana.[11]
Abortion
Hill is opposed to all abortions, except when the life of the mother is at risk.[12]
Campaign donors
2012
Disputed donation
In mid-October 2012, the Montana Republican Party donated $500,000 to Hill's campaign for governor. His opponent, Steve Bullock (D), said accepting the donation was a crime. "It shows that he's going to go to any level, including taking illegal contributions, to win the election. This is a serious violation. It's a $500,000 violation of Montana's laws. There certainly could be implications beyond the election," Bullock stated.[13]
On October 18, Bullock filed a lawsuit against Hill, asking a district judge to require Hill to return the donation. Hill’s campaign manager Brock Lowrance responded, “Bullock’s wild accusations about a legal campaign contribution is a desperate move by a panicked campaign trying to gain headlines.”[14]
Montana District Judge Kathy Seeley issued a restraining order on October 24, forcing Hill to temporarily stop spending the disputed money and cancel all pending ads purchased with it. Following oral arguments on October 29, Seeley issued a preliminary injunction in case, effectively keeping Hill from spending the money prior to the November 6 election.[15][16]
Bullock dropped the lawsuit on December 21, 2012. [17]
Personal
Hill and his wife Betti have three sons.[18]
See also
- Montana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2012
- Governor of Montana
- Lieutenant Governor of Montana
External links
- Rick Hill for Governor
- Hill's campaign page on Facebook
- Hill's campaign on Twitter
- Hill's campaign channel on YouTube
- Hill on LinkedIn
- Project Vote Smart biographical profile
References
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "2012 Candidate filing list: Non-legislative," accessed March 12, 2012
- ↑ Missolian, "Former GOP U.S. Rep. Rick Hill to run for Montana governor," November 6, 2010
- ↑ Associated Press, "Montana primary election, unofficial results," accessed June 6, 2012
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Libertarians provided the margin for Democrats and at least nine elections," November 15, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Jobs and the economy," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Agriculture," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Responsible Government," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Energy & natural resource development," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Conservative values," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Education," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill 2012.com, "Issues: Wolf management," accessed June 5, 2012
- ↑ Missoulian, "Montana governor candidates criticize each other in wake of politician's rape comments," August 20, 2012
- ↑ Independent Record, "Montana GOP donates $500K to Hill campaign," October 17, 2012
- ↑ Missoulian, "Bullock files suit over GOP's $500K donation to Hill," October 19, 2012
- ↑ Ravalli Republic, "Governor's race: Hill told to stop spending disputed $500K," October 25, 2012
- ↑ The Republic, "Judge's block on $500,000 donation to Rick Hill to remain through election, barring appeal," October 31, 2012
- ↑ KFBB, "Bullock Drops Lawsuit," December 21, 2012
- ↑ Rick Hill, "About," accessed August 25, 2012
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