“Harry Reid called me and said, we already have our candidate,” Bohlinger told me, pausing between meetings and being complimented for his red/white/blue donkey bow tie. True, the D.C. party likes current Lt. Gov. John Walsh as its contender for the open seat. Bohlinger’s trying to break out of the “challenger” rut by talking up a constitutional amendment that would codify privacy rights and protect online communication. As we talked about personal data, I asked how he’d talk to Montana voters about the Affordable Care Act.

“We know that the Affordable Care Act has met with a great deal of resistence in Montana,” he said, carefully. “People are disappointed that it hasn’t been able to deliver what was promised. We know that—oh, gosh, more than 30,000 Montanans have had their insurance policies canceled.”