Montana Democratic Party: In Major Departure From Bipartisan Mainstream, Downing Signals Support for Gender Discrimination

HELENA, Montana, Sept. 25 -- The Montana Democratic Party issued the following news release:

In an interview early this week, Republican candidate for State Auditor Troy Downing -- seemingly unprompted -- indicated that he would work to reverse Montana's long standing laws abolishing gender discrimination in the insurance industry.

Montana was the first state in the nation to pass such a law, which prevents insurance companies from arbitrarily charging individuals higher rates on the basis of gender. A recent study found that women "were paying $500 more [in car insurance premiums] for no reason other than they marked the 'F' under gender."

Downing's position is a major departure from the bipartisan mainstream. Even current Republican State Auditor Matt Rosendale has stayed quiet on Montana's laws on gender discrimination. If Downing has his way, insurance companies will have free reign to arbitrarily charge Montanans higher rates solely on the basis of their gender, impacting thousands of working Montanans already struggling to pay their insurance bills.

"Montanans deserve an Auditor who will fight for them, not give free reign to the insurance industry to discriminate against Montanans at will," said MDP Communications Director Nathan Stein. "Troy Downing's outrageous support for gender discrimination by insurance companies shows just how out-of-touch he is."