Bullock has been described by
The Washington Post and
ABC News as a
moderate Democrat.
Abortion In 2017, Bullock vetoed measures to outlaw
abortions after 20 weeks, citing constitutional rulings on the women's ability to protect their lives and health and arguing that elected officials should not put personal beliefs above medical professionals' judgment. He has said that he personally believes life begins at
viability but that "it's not up to people like me to be making these decisions". In 2018, Bullock wrote a letter to
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar requesting that
Title X funding for reproductive health care and
family planning for low-income women remain in effect, saying the program had generated more than $29 million in savings.
Campaign finance reform As Attorney General of Montana, Bullock advocated on behalf of the state's century-old ban on corporate money in elections, the Montana Corrupt Practices Act of 1912. After that and similar laws were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court's
Citizens United v. FEC decision in 2010, Bullock countered with a new case,
American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock (2012). The Supreme Court disposed of the case in a 5–4 decision, but Bullock continued to advocate for campaign finance reform throughout his time as governor of Montana. In 2015, Bullock steered the DISCLOSE Act, a bipartisan campaign finance reform bill that bolstered disclosure requirements in Montana elections, through a GOP-controlled state legislature. In June 2018, Bullock signed an executive order that required the recipients of major government contracts in Montana to disclose "
dark money spending" in elections, including spending disclosure not explicitly required by federal law. On July 24, 2018, Bullock sued the
Internal Revenue Service and the
U.S. Department of the Treasury over a recent decision to dispense with donor requirements for nonprofit organizations.
Climate change and environment Bullock acknowledges the
scientific consensus on climate change and has said, "To not acknowledge or deal with our changing climate in a responsible way is shortsighted and dangerous." Montana became the first state to halt preparations for the
Clean Power Plan when the
United States Supreme Court announced a stay of the plan in February 2016.
Democratic Party In 2015, Bullock said that there are "roles for all of us Democrats" in the Democratic party, referring to liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike. Bullock endorsed
Hillary Clinton in the
2016 general election but expressed disagreement with Clinton's opposition to coal mining, an important industry in Montana. He did not attend the
2016 Democratic National Convention, citing his duties as governor. In the
2016 elections, Bullock was one of just two Democrats, and the only Democratic incumbent, to win a gubernatorial election in states
Donald Trump won. He has publicly argued that the
Democratic Party needs to expand its reach beyond urban areas and the coasts, encouraging Democrats to engage with and attempt to persuade voters in suburban and rural areas rather than relying solely on base turnout. He visited Iowa, Wisconsin, and Colorado to speak in support of Democratic candidates during the
2018 election cycle, leading some to speculate, correctly, that he was considering a presidential run.
Death penalty In 2019, Bullock said he supports the
death penalty in "limited circumstances" like terrorism—a stance that distinguished him from the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field.
Gun policy In 2009, Bullock opposed a ban on
semiautomatic weapons. But in 2018, Bullock wrote an
op-ed in
The Great Falls Tribune saying he had come to support universal background checks, as well as
magazine size limits and
red flag laws, citing research showing lowered deaths from domestic violence, suicide, and the killing of law enforcement officers.
Immigration As Attorney General, Bullock opposed a
2012 voter-approved law intended to deny government jobs and services to
undocumented immigrants by requiring state agencies to verify the immigration status of applicants through a federal database. The law was ultimately ruled unconstitutional and legally unenforceable. In 2015, Bullock supported a federal decision to allow the
admission of
Syrian refugees, despite pushback from Republican state legislators; he promised that ensuring the safety of Montanans would be his "top priority" and that the vetting process was "extraordinarily thorough". Bullock supports the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and in 2017 was one of 11 governors to sign a letter in support of legislation to protect DACA recipients and ensure they can "continue to live, work, and contribute to the country they have called home for most of their lives." In 2018, Bullock refused to deploy National Guard troops from Montana to the Mexican border "based simply on the whim of the President's morning Twitter habit." He voiced opposition to the Trump administration's
family separation policy, saying the separations "must end immediately."
LGBT rights Bullock supports
same-sex marriage and praised the federal judge who struck down Montana's same-sex marriage ban in 2014, making Montana the 34th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. He also supported the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in
Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, and said in a statement on June 26, 2015: "This ruling protects the right of all Montanans to marry the person they love, and moves our state and nation closer to the promise of freedom, dignity, and equality that they were founded upon. All people, regardless of their sexual orientation, should have the opportunity to make a good life for themselves and their families." Bullock has also spoken at Pride rallies in Montana and in 2015 became the first sitting governor in Montana history to officiate a same-sex wedding. In 2016, Bullock enacted an executive order that prohibits state agencies, state contractors, and subcontractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or
gender identity. The executive order expanded upon one signed by Governor
Brian Schweitzer in 2008, which had similar goals but did not include protections for gender identity and did not apply to contractors or subcontractors.
Net neutrality Bullock supports
net neutrality and opposed the
Federal Communications Commission's decision to repeal it. On January 22, 2018, Bullock signed an executive order prohibiting any internet service provider with a state government contract from blocking or charging additional fees for faster delivery of websites, two major principles of net neutrality. Through this executive order, Montana became the first state to implement and enforce net neutrality after the FCC repeal. The governors of
New York,
New Jersey,
Vermont,
Hawaii, and
Rhode Island eventually followed suit.
Organized labor Bullock has been recognized and endorsed by the
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) and the Montana Education Association - Montana Federation of Teachers for his support of worker's rights and public education. Bullock opposes
right-to-work legislation, which allows workers to forgo paying union dues while still benefitting from union-negotiated labor contracts. Montana is the only state in the Upper Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. that does not have
right-to-work legislation in place; its neighboring states do not provide the same level of protection for labor unions. He opposed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in
Janus v. AFSCME and said in a statement: "The US Supreme Court just overturned 40 years of settled law that workers, employers and unions across the country rely on. All the more ironic, the 5–4 decision cited
Citizens United as a reason to do so." ==Electoral history==