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A bombshell report from Politico today revealed that Montana congressional candidate and former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke barely lives in the state he’s hoping to represent – instead favoring his “10-acre” property and “41-foot yacht” in Santa Barbara, California.
As a GOP former state senator put it: “I think it’s pretty obvious when you show up in March with a really killer tan that you haven’t been here for a long time. I don’t think Ryan has been a true Montanan for a very long time.”
The report also highlights the “nearly 20 federal probes” Zinke has faced for his shady business dealings and ethical misconduct – including an ongoing investigation into whether Zinke violated conflict of interest statutes by negotiating a Montana real estate deal with the chairman of the oil giant Halliburton and other developers while serving as Interior Secretary.
It’s a project that Zinke “could still benefit from, even as he launches his run for Congress.”
It’s no wonder that Montanans are concerned that Zinke is “more invested in getting back to D.C. and back to the relationships it has offered him than he is in serving the state.”
Politico Magazine: Ryan Zinke is Running for Office Again in Montana. On Instagram, He’s Often in Santa Barbara.
By Miranda Green
Key points:
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As a candidate, Zinke already has his share of questions to answer: It’s been almost three years since he resigned from the Interior Department amid a series of ethics scandals and federal investigations, some of which were referred to the Department of Justice. But in Montana, perhaps the most acute question now is about exactly where he lives.
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It’s long been known that Zinke splits his time between Whitefish and Santa Barbara, California, where his wife owns property and a yacht — a point critics have seized on in his previous congressional races, in 2014 and 2016. […] But when I visited the state over the summer, a half-dozen residents of Whitefish and the closest city, Kalispell, told me that, until Zinke launched his most recent campaign, they hadn’t seen him around much since he left Washington in late 2018.
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The most recently available FEC data shows Zinke has received campaign donations — about $181,000, as of July — largely from non-Montanans, as well.
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“I think it’s pretty obvious when you show up in March with a really killer tan that you haven’t been here for a long time,” said Jennifer Fielder, a Republican former state senator who supports Zinke’s GOP primary challenger.
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“I don’t think Ryan has been a true Montanan for a very long time,” said Fielder, now a member of the Montana Public Service Commission, a state regulatory agency.
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When I contacted Zinke’s campaign to ask about his residence, I was told he still lives in his hometown of Whitefish, at the address given on his April FEC campaign filing. In July, I flew to Montana and drove to that address, a handsome, two-story, chalet-style home within walking distance of downtown. […] Exiting the property, Nikita Packard identified herself as Zinke’s son’s 22-year-old girlfriend and told a POLITICO photographer that she lived in the house, but that Zinke did not.
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When Zinke left Washington in 2018, he went to work for a Nevada-based gold mining company and later became the first of Trump’s Cabinet secretaries to join a lobbying firm, though the enterprise was short-lived. Since then, several locals I spoke with said he has not been a noticeable presence in Whitefish.
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Lolita Zinke’s photos on Instagram show that in recent years she and her family have bought Christmas trees, celebrated Easter, worked on backyard renovations and gone horseback riding in and around the beachside enclave of Santa Barbara, which is two hours north of Los Angeles and home to celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres and Meghan Markle.
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Documents provided by the City of Santa Barbara show Lolita also owns a 41-foot yacht that’s docked in the Santa Barbara harbor — a boat named Freyja’s Dance, after the Norse goddess. According to Lolita’s frequent Instagram posts, she is a member of the local yacht club, which looks up at the towering Santa Ynez Mountains.
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“Maybe if he had come back after he resigned as Interior secretary and moved back to Whitefish and came back to the community, that would be something. But Ryan didn’t show up until there was an announcement for an open seat,” said Al Olszewski, a former Montana state senator who is Zinke’s sole declared Republican challenger.
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All told, Zinke faced nearly 20 federal probes. […] One of the investigations examines whether Zinke violated federal conflict of interest rules by engaging in business negotiations with the owner of a large property being developed just across the street from the Snowfrog Inn in Whitefish, at 95 Karrow Ave. It’s an ongoing project Zinke could still benefit from, even as he launches his run for Congress.
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Congressional investigators later found through an email that Zinke had hosted developers for the project — including David Lesar, chairman of oil services giant Halliburton, whose energy interests Zinke regulated as Interior Secretary, and Casey Malmquist, the developer of 95 Karrow — at his office in Washington.
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It’s not clear who the buyer is or who will manage the brewery, if constructed, but the development could raise the value of neighboring properties the Zinkes own. And while the nonprofit that has offered its space for parking is led by Lolita — Zinke stepped down from running it prior to becoming Interior Secretary — he appears to continue to support its efforts: He donated $11,594 in leftover campaign funds to the nonprofit in December 2020, according to FEC filings.
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Some Montanans I spoke with argue Zinke has become part of Washington’s great revolving door, more invested in getting back to D.C. and back to the relationships it has offered him than he is in serving the state.
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