Dinosaurs roar into Montana governor’s race with new ad
HELENA, Mont. — Dinosaurs have roared into Montana’s race for governor with a renowned paleontologist who consulted with Steven Spielberg on the “Jurassic Park” movies saying the Republican candidate would spend taxpayer money on private schools that teach creationism and mislead children about how old the Earth is.
A new television ad features former Montana State University paleontologist Jack Horner saying candidate Greg Gianforte thinks the Earth is only a few thousand years old. Horner says Gianforte supports using taxpayer money to fund “private schools that obscure the truth about dinosaurs and the age of the Earth.”
“He’ll say I’m attacking his religion — I’m not,” Horner says in the ad. “We just need to make sure that our kids learn the truth. I’d think twice about voting for Greg Gianforte.”
Gianforte, a Bozeman technology entrepreneur who is making his first run for political office, is in a tight race against incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. Gianforte campaign spokesman Aaron Flint on Wednesday called the ad silly and said it misrepresents Gianforte’s strong support of public schools and teachers.