Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-MT) second candidacy for a Montana Senate seat is over after less than a week.
Rosendale dropped out of the race Thursday, Politico reports, after jumping in the Republican primary to challenge Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) the previous Friday.
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – MAY 11: Committee Chairman Senator Jon Tester speaks during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in Washington DC, United States on May 11, 2023. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and Department of Defense Comptroller Michael McCord testify during the subcommittee. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
His bid took a hit within hours of the declaration of his candidacy when Donald Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy, the favorite of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
The news is a victory for Trump. In a post on Truth Social announcing his endorsement of Sheehy, Trump appeared to push Rosendale towards getting out of the race, saying, “I also respect Matt Rosendale, and was very happy to Endorse him in the past – and will Endorse him again in the future should he decide to change course and run for his Congressional Seat.”
Rosendale has not yet announced if he will seek to retain his House seat. He challenged Tester for the Senate in 2018, losing what many national prognosticators believed to be an underwhelming race in a winnable seat in ruby-red Montana.
With Rosendale out of the way, Sheehy appears on a glide path to the nomination with the added bonus of retaining resources to use against Tester in the general election.
U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.