Ronning enters Eastern Montana U.S. House race

Former Billings City Councilwoman Penny Ronning is running for the U.S. House in Montana’s Eastern district.

Ronning, a Democrat, said she’s been planning a congressional candidacy for a while. There had been speculation Ronning would be on the 2022 ballot given that she didn’t seek reelection this year in City Council Ward 4, which she won by a safe margin in 2017.

“I was raised in a home that’s very center. My dad’s a Republican, my mom’s a Democrat. It was very center and that’s who I am. I’ve never been extreme on either end. I’m very moderate and I’ve never been ashamed of that,” Ronning said. “We have two parties. I’m one who believes when those two parties are healthy, our country is healthy.”

A Billings native, Ronning said neither of the nation’s major parties is healthy now. She said federal office is a comfortable fit. Her mother was a lifetime federal employee, first working as an assistant to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and later the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Through the lens of family, she became aware of the federal government's role in the West, realizing that whatever happened in Washington, D.C., the consequences, good or bad, were always found locally. Ronning’s father owned the Happy Diner restaurant on Grand Avenue in Billings.

Read more: https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/ronning-enters-eastern-montana-u-s-house-race/article_e1575282-218b-506c-8d3d-81be64ceb2d8.html
(Helena Independent Record)