[[{“value”:”Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) said he won’t seek reelection for a third term.
Rosendale cited a “death threat” and “false and defamatory rumors” in an announcement posted to X.
The Montana Republican recently withdrew his bid for the U.S. Senate less than a week after launching his campaign.
“Since that announcement, I have been forced to have law enforcement visit my children because of a death threat against me and false and defamatory rumors against me and my family. This has taken a serious toll on me, and my family. Additionally, it has caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02,” Rosendale said.
“The current attacks have made it impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you. So, in the best interest of my family and the community, I am withdrawing from the House race and will not be seeking office,” he continued.
pic.twitter.com/O0bRpAlKoN
— Matt Rosendale (@MattForMontana) March 8, 2024
NBC News reports:
It’s the second surprise announcement from Rosendale in three weeks. Last month, he ended his campaign for a Senate seat less than a week after launching it. Rosendale faced a potentially brutal Republican primary in that race against aerospace entrepreneur Tim Sheehy, who is backed by former President Donald Trump and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Trump advisers and allies had been frustrated with Rosendale, who they believed had not been sufficiently loyal, and made that clear before he entered the contest.
“This race was already going to be tough, as I was fighting against [Senate GOP Leader] Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican establishment in Washington,” Rosendale said when he dropped out of the Senate race Feb. 15. “But I felt like I could beat them, as the voters do not agree with them choosing who would be the next U.S. Senator from Montana.”
“However,” Rosendale added, “by my calculations, with Trump endorsing my opponent and the lack of resources, the hill was just too steep.”
In his Friday announcement, Rosendale said he made the decision to file for re-election to his House seat “at the urging of many, including several of the current candidates.”
BREAKING NEWS: Rep. Matt Rosendale announced on his official campaign X account that he is withdrawing from U.S. House race and will not be seeking office. https://t.co/7oOtPPt5KK
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) March 8, 2024
BREAKING: GOP Rep. Makes Surprise Retirement Announcementhttps://t.co/DEhZERimwI
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) March 8, 2024
From the Associated Press:
In Washington, Rosendale has been among the House’s most hard-right conservatives and a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He banded with seven other members of his party in October to oust Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
He also supports Trump, voted against certifying the 2020 election, and cosponsored legislation with Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz to defund Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Montana voters elected Rosendale, a native of Maryland, to the House in 2020 and again two years ago by wide margins. His decision to bow out comes after numerous Republicans jumped into the contest when it was presumed Rosendale wouldn’t seek a third term.
Among them are former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana state Auditor Troy Downing and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who had said she would run only if Rosendale did not.
Democrats have struggled to gain a foothold in the district since it was redrawn for the 2022 election when Montana gained a second congressional seat due to its growing population. The party’s nominee that year, former state lawmaker Penny Ronning, finished third in the general election with just 20% of the vote, behind Rosendale and Independent Gary Buchanan.”}]] [[{“value”:”
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-MT, announced that he will not seek reelection to a third term.
In an announcement posted on X, Rosendale cited a ‘death threats’ and a ‘false and slanderous rumor.
The Montana Republican withdrew from the race for U.S. Senate a little more than a week following his launch.
“Since I made that announcement, law enforcement has been forced to visit my children due to a death threats against me and false defamatory rumors about me and my family. This has been a major burden for me and my family. It has also caused a serious disruption in the election for the next representative of MT-02,” Rosendale stated.
“The current attacks made it impossible for my to focus on the work I do to serve you. In the best interests of my family and community, I will not run for office and withdraw from the House race,” he said.
pic.twitter.com/O0bRpAlKoN
— Matt Rosendale (@MattForMontana) March 8, 2024
NBC News reports
This is Rosendale’s second surprise announcement in three weeks. He ended his Senate campaign last month less than a fortnight after it began. Rosendale faced an intense Republican primary against aerospace entrepreneur Tim Sheehy who was backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and former President Donald Trump. Trump advisers and ally had been frustrated by Rosendale’s lack of loyalty, and made this clear before he entered.
Rosendale, who dropped out of the Senate race on February 15, said: “This race was going to be tough as I was up against [Senate GOP leader] Mitch McConnell and other members of the Republican establishment. “But I thought I could beat them because the voters don’t agree with their choice of who would be the U.S. Senator.” “But I felt like I could beat them, as the voters do not agree with them choosing who would be the next U.S. Senator from Montana.”
Rosendale said, “However, my calculations showed that with Trump’s endorsement of my opponent and a lack of resources, it was too steep a hill.”
In his announcement on Friday, Rosendale said that he decided to run for reelection in his House seat at the “urging of many people, including several current candidates.”
BREAKING NEWS! Rep. Matt Rosendale announced via his official campaign X page that he will not be running for office in the U.S. House of Representatives. https://t.co/7oOtPPt5KK
— NBC Montana (@NBCMontana) March 8, 2024
BREAKING: GOP Rep. Makes Surprise Retirement Announcementhttps://t.co/DEhZERimwI
Dinesh DSouza (@DineshDSouza), March 8, 2024
The Associated Press:
Rosendale is a member of House Freedom Caucus in Washington and has been a staunch conservative. He joined forces with seven other members from his party to remove Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October.
He also supports Trump. He voted against certifying 2020 elections and cosponsored legislation along with Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, to defund Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged storage classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Montana voters re-elected Rosendale, who is a Maryland native, to the House of Representatives in 2020, and again two years earlier, with large margins. His decision to withdraw comes after many Republicans jumped in the race when it was assumed that Rosendale would not seek a third term.
Among those who have expressed interest are former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg and Montana State Auditor Troy Downing, as well as Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen. She had previously said that she would only run if Rosendale declined to do so.
Since the district was redrawn in 2022, when Montana gained its second congressional seat because of its growing population, Democrats have had difficulty gaining a foothold. The party’s candidate that year, former state legislator Penny Ronning, came in third place with only 20% of the votes, behind Independent Gary Buchanan and Rosendale.
“}]]
