Four Democratic candidates for Montana House seats gathered in Bozeman Tuesday evening to discuss voting access, affordable housing, health care, climate, and immigration enforcement — a roster of topics so comprehensive that the moderator ran out of time before the first audience question.

The forum, held at the Emerson Center, drew approximately 80 attendees, most of whom nodded vigorously throughout and appeared to already agree with everything being said, raising the question of who, exactly, the candidates were trying to persuade.

“I think we can all agree that affordable housing is the defining issue of our time,” said candidate Rachel Sundquist, representing HD-65. The audience agreed. “And that voting access is fundamental to democracy.” The audience agreed again. “And that health care should be accessible to every Montanan.” The agreement continued. At no point did anyone disagree with anything.

“It felt less like a debate and more like a group hug with microphones,” said attendee Bill Kowalski, 55, who described himself as “a registered independent who came to hear both sides” and then acknowledged that both sides were the same side.

The candidates did diverge slightly on immigration enforcement, with two favoring federal oversight and two favoring state cooperation, a distinction so narrow that the moderator asked them to restate their positions, after which the distinction became even narrower.

One audience member, who identified herself as a rancher from Amsterdam, asked the candidates how their platforms would address rising property taxes. All four expressed concern. None provided a specific mechanism. The rancher nodded as if this was the answer she expected.

Republican candidates were invited to participate but declined, citing scheduling conflicts. The scheduling conflict, sources close to one campaign confirmed, was “the entire concept of the event.”

The forum ended with closing statements in which each candidate expressed optimism about Montana’s future, gratitude for the community’s engagement, and a commitment to “listening,” bringing the evening’s total number of people committed to listening to approximately 84, all of whom were listening to people who agreed with them.

Coffee and cookies were served afterward. The cookies were excellent.