Lola Zinke, the wife of Montana congressional candidate Ryan Zinke, designated a home in California as her primary residence for tax purposes, according to a new report from Politico, that is sure to provide fodder for political opponents.
In an interview Friday with the Montana State News Bureau, Ryan Zinke said the residence is her legal primary residence but that his legal residence is and has been in Montana. Lola Zinke has a long family history at the California property and currently operates a business there.
A tax filing obtained by Politico shows that last August Lola Zinke received a homeowner tax exemption for the home in Santa Barbara County. The exemption offers a $7,000 deduction on property value assessments, with regulations stating that homes “must have been the principal place of residence of the owner” at the beginning of the calendar year.
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Politico further reports that the Zinkes had listed the California home as their mailing address on various legal forms.
The issue of how strong Ryan Zinke’s ties are to Montana has been a long-simmering political issue in the state, with political opponents questioning how much time he spends in California compared to Whitefish. The attack has amplified in this election, with his main Republican opponent in Montana's new western congressional district former state Sen. Al Olszewski launching an ad calling Ryan Zinke a California resident.
A political action committee supporting Democrat Monica Tranel lodged a similar attack in a TV ad also targeting fellow Democrat Cora Neumann, who sold a home in California in 2020.
Lola Zinke inherited the Santa Barbara property years ago following the death of her mother. Ryan Zinke said his wife is the sole owner of the property, while the couple owns properties in Whitefish that have been in Ryan Zinke’s family for years. The former Secretary of the Interior also owns property as part of a family partnership in Whitefish.
“Lola pays California taxes, so we operate exactly under the law within the guidelines of the Homestead Act,” Ryan Zinke said Friday, adding that the property became her legal primary residence when she took over the title. “It wasn’t mine, it was Lola’s”
Ryan Zinke said he was not 100% sure if Lola Zinke was now legally a California resident but suspected she was, given California’s tight rules around residency and taxes and how much time she spends there.
Ryan Zinke does go to the property, where he says he has done a lot of work on things like wildfire mitigation.
Ryan Zinke said the couple has been supportive of each other, going back and forth between Montana and California, or meeting in other places to allow them both to pursue career goals and maintain ties to both their families’ properties.
“I don’t think a husband worth his merit would do anything less,” he said. “ … She loves me and I’m her husband but she loves that property too.”
While publicly Lola Zinke often thought of as only his wife, Ryan Zinke said she is an accomplished attorney and business woman.
“Lola’s a person in her own right,” he said. “... She’s a force of nature.”
The Zinkes’ main property in Whitefish is his grandmother’s former home, which was remodeled as a bed and breakfast. Ryan Zinke said it took several years working through city zoning and the couple had planned to open the business before he was nominated as Interior secretary.
“That has been our residence,” he said.
The Zinkes also own adjacent property in Whitefish and Ryan Zinke owns property with his sister as well, he said.