Montana governor campaigns in Decorah

Bullock with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. Bullock was Montana's Attorney General before being elected governor and worked with Miller on national issues

In the 2016 election, Donald Trump carried the state of Montana by 20 percentage points.  But during the same election, Democrat Steve Bullock was re-elected governor by four percentage points—the only Democrat in the country to win a statewide race in a state which voted for Trump.

Bullock told an audience in Decorah over the weekend that it's not getting elected that's important, it's doing something meaningful once you get elected.  He says he worked with the Montana Legislature—where Republicans have solid majorities in both the Senate and House—to pass a funding bill that increased money spent on education in Montana, becoming one of only four states nationwide to do so.

"People believe I will fight for them," said Bullock.  He says government leaders have to work to improve the lives of the people they represent.  That's especially important now, he says, because only 50 percent of 30-year-olds are doing better than their parents did.  He says elections are about people talking to other people about what's important in their lives and working for the public good instead of a narrow self-interest.

Bullock has been mentioned as a potential Democratic Party candidate for President in 2020.  There are term limits in Montana, meaning Bullock could not run a third time for governor.