Ryan Busse, a Democratic candidate for Montana's U.S. House seat, is facing questions about the authenticity of his campaign advertisement titled "Let's Fix It," which features the candidate in what appears to be a modest kitchen setting while discussing affordability and fighting for working people.
The ad shows Busse and his wife listening to news headlines in a town home kitchen as he fixes coffee, asking his wife "How much more of this are we supposed to take?" However, public records, photos on real estate websites, and past interviews conducted at Busse's actual residence suggest the home featured in the advertisement belongs to one of his staffers, Alice Collins.
What the Left Is Saying
Collins told Fox News Digital that "at no point in the ad do we claim it to be Ryan's house." Neither Collins nor the Busse campaign would confirm or deny whether her town home was used for the advertisement instead of Busse's rural estate.
Busse, a former firearms executive who unsuccessfully ran for Montana governor in 2024, has campaigned on a message about affordability for everyday Montanans. In the advertisement, he states he will "fight for working people, not the wealthy." Supporters have noted that candidates frequently use various settings for campaign materials and that the ad's policy message remains the focus.
What the Right Is Saying
"If a candidate seeking to crusade on an affordability message feels the need to film campaign commercials away from their own home, that says a lot about the state of socialism and the demonization of prosperity in today's Democratic Party," said Republican strategist Colin Reed.
Ashley Hayek, President of America First Works, added: "The inauthenticity of Busse's ad reflects a pattern we're seeing in races across the country — America's last elites trying to hide their true identity and agenda because their policies and values don't resonate with the values and experiences of everyday Americans. When candidates like Busse lie about their mansions to seem 'relatable,' it only highlights how disconnected they are from hardworking families."
Reed argued that financial success should be "celebrated" rather than concealed, stating that anyone running for Congress would benefit from proposing policies that expand home ownership "rather than strangle them in more red tape and an ever more expansive federal government."
What the Numbers Show
Public records and real estate listings show Busse's actual Kalispell residence is valued between $1.5 million, according to Zillow, and $1.6 million, according to Redfin. The property sits on over 4 acres of land.
Redfin ranks Montana as the 8th most expensive state for home prices in the country. According to the Montana Free Press, the median single-family home sale price in Bozeman was $715,000 in February, down from a peak of $898,000 in May 2023 but still significantly above national averages.
Candidates are not required to disclose the value of their primary homes on financial disclosures, only investment properties. In a 2024 interview with KPAX-TV conducted at his Kalispell property, Busse and his wife Sara showed enough land to raise 11 chickens while their hunting dogs had "free rein" across the open acreage.
The Bottom Line
The controversy echoes similar questions raised about Virginia Republican candidate Derrick Anderson in 2024, when he faced scrutiny over campaign photos that appeared to misrepresent family relationships. In both cases, critics argue voters deserve transparency about candidates' actual circumstances versus their presented images.
Busse is running for Montana's U.S. House seat as a Democrat in a state that has leaned Republican in federal elections. The candidate has not responded to repeated inquiries from Fox News Digital seeking comment on the authenticity questions surrounding the advertisement.