Episode Thirty-Seven - Katherine Bidegaray

The State of Montana

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Episode Thirty-Seven - Katherine Bidegaray

Candidate for Supreme Court Justice

Russell Rowland

Sep 08, 2024

Transcript

Katherine Bidegaray was raised in northeastern Montana as one of five girls and one brother on a sheep and cattle ranch. She completed two degrees at the University of Montana before attending law school there, and after working for the state for a few years, she went home to try and fight for the family farm when her father died and they threatened to foreclose on the ranch. She has been a state district court judge in the Seventh District for more than twenty years, and is now a candidate for an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Thanks to Phil Aaberg for the background music, and thanks to Buchanan Capital for sponsoring this podcast.

Discussion about this podcast

The State of Montana

Montana has a long history of very complicated politics, often influenced by major corporations, as with the Copper Kings in our early history, or oil money. But we also have a strong track record of very progressive milestones, the most significant of which was the election of the first woman to ever serve in Congress, Jeanette Rankin. We also have what most constitutional historians consider one of the strongest state constitutions in the country. We have always boasted a very significant balance of power as well, but recently that has changed, and I want to understand why, and what can be done about it. So I'm going to interview some of our more high-profile citizens, not necessarily politicians, to explore this issue. My first guest will be Dorothy Bradley, who was the first woman to run for governor of the state. Dorothy just barely lost to Marc Racicot in 1992.

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