HELENA, Mont., Oct. 21, 2014—America’s largest small-business association today announced its endorsement of Ryan Zinke for Montana’s lone U.S. House seat.
“Ryan Zinke was a very good state senator,” said Riley Johnson, Montana state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest and leading small-business association. “He was particularly helpful to small business in passing vital workers’ compensation legislation. He is a lawmaker who likes to get things accomplished. I’m delighted to support such a qualified candidate for Congress.”
The endorsement for Zinke (MT At-Large) was made by NFIB’s SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust, the association’s political action committee, and was based on his support of key small-business issues.
“His record on small business issues, his knowledge of energy and national security issues, and the smarts to know what it takes to run his own enterprise puts Ryan Zinke miles ahead of his opponent,” said Lisa Goeas, NFIB’s vice president for political and grassroots. “His opponent was an aide to the senator who helped form and pass Obamacare to only later call it a train wreck. This is definitely not the type of political pedigree Congress needs.”
NFIB has 6,000 dues-paying members in Montana. “Small businesses significantly impact Montana’s economy,” reports the Office of Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration. “They represent 97.5 percent of all employers and employ 68.4 percent of the private-sector labor force. Small businesses are crucial to the fiscal condition of the state and numbered 114,214 in 2010. Most of Montana’s small businesses have fewer than 20 employees.”
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Montana
491 South Park Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
406-443-3797
