Mayor Pete in Montana!

About this episode

The episode features an in-person interview with Pete Buttigieg discussing the Montana Plan and various political topics.

Apologies to everyone who noticed the blurry video in our live stream this morning— it seems the Montana WiFi overlords are not playing well with us. We uploaded the clean version here so you can watch it without frustration!Former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg (or Mayor Pete, as we lovingly call him) is in Big Sky Country this weekend stumping for the Montana Plan, an effort to make the effects of the Citizens United decision a moot point—with hopes the effort will spread to other states. Last week, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed a similar measure into law.Basically, Montana has the authority to remove corporations’ power to spend in politics through corporation laws which are controlled by the states—other states can follow suit. While Hawaii’s measure passed through the legislature, Montana organizers are putting it to the voters with a ballot initiative.We couldn’t let Mayor Pete come to town without having him join us for an in-person podcast episode. We touch on the Montana Plan, but also discuss 2026, how to restore trust in our institutions, and what the Democrats need to do moving forward. Plus, we talk about soaring costs and the redistricting wars. Plus, does he…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jon Tester, Maritsa Georgiou

Guest: Pete Buttigieg

Topics covered

• political campaign
• Citizens United
• Montana Plan
• trust in institutions
• redistricting
• cost of living

Keywords

• Pete Buttigieg
• Montana Plan
• Citizens United
• politics
• 2026
• redistricting
• costs

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Montana School of Journalism

Places: Montana, Hawaii

More episodes of Grounded with Jon Tester & Maritsa Georgiou

• We Saw it Coming · June 11, 2026 · 1h 13m
• Even Baddies Get Saddies · June 9, 2026 · 49 min
• Cognitive Offloading · June 1, 2026 · 1h 1m
• This is Mission · May 26, 2026 · 1h 15m
• True (Stupid) Crime · May 21, 2026 · 54 min
• A Vote is a Kind of Prayer · May 20, 2026 · 55 min