BOZEMAN, Mont. — A huge outfitting store on the edge of this mountain-ringed town should be a conservative bastion: The ranchers and farmers who come to shop tend to be reliable Republicans.
But here at Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply -- amid the calf pens, muck buckets and bags of horse feed -- there are signs of trouble for the GOP. And that could be bad news for the party from coast to coast.
Jack Bolender, a retiree who voted for three-term Sen. Conrad Burns because the Republican delivered mounds of federal aid to Montana, said he was deserting the incumbent in the state's November election. Allegations that Burns was cozy with Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist central to a wide-ranging corruption scandal in Washington, have Bolender steamed.
"I appreciate what [Burns] brought to the state, but at what cost?" Bolender said one cold afternoon outside Murdoch's. "We seem to be selling out to the special interests."
Voters such as Bolender are at the center of a political storm that threatens to roil this year's midterm elections. Democrats are trying to use the Abramoff scandal to tarnish Republicans. And there are few places where the effort is more intense than in Montana.
The Montana Democratic Party has been hammering him over the Abramoff ties in ads that began in August.
The state's media have pummeled Burns for months over his every connection to the lobbyist, including contributions to the senator and expense-paid trips for his staff.
Montana has become a testing ground for how effectively Democrats can use the ethics issue to weaken GOP incumbents who otherwise would be heavily favored to win reelection. The answer to that question will be key to whether -- and to what extent -- the party can gain Senate and House seats in November.
Some Republicans dismiss the Democratic strategy, insisting that few people outside Washington's Beltway have paid attention to the furor surrounding Abramoff, who in January pleaded guilty to bribery and bilking his clients. He is cooperating with an ongoing federal probe into influence-peddling in Washington.
But in Montana -- two time zones and more than 1,500 miles away from the nation's capital -- Abramoff has become practically a household name, much to Burns' chagrin.
Although most political professionals still consider Burns a slight favorite to win reelection, recent polls showed that the double-digit lead he enjoyed last year has vanished. Some surveys show him tied or trailing his two leading Democratic opponents -- state Auditor John Morrison and state Senate President Jon Tester.
