Rosendale takes step toward possible reelection run

by Havre Daily News Staff

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., filed an amended statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission Saturday, which may indicate he is seeking reelection, though his press spokesperson had yet to respond to a request for comment by printing deadline this morning.

Rosendale's potential reelection bid comes after a fleeting campaign for U.S. Senate which was shuttered after less than a week when Republican kingmaker former President Donald Trump endorsed his primary opponent Tim Sheehy.

Rosendale hinted at a run for Senate for months before declaring a few weeks ago, a prospect that netted him significant criticism from conservative figures, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who wanted a clear field for Sheehy, who they argued stood a better chance against Democratic incumbent Jon Tester, who had already beaten Rosendale once before in 2018.

Rosendale opposed Sheehy on the grounds that McConnell and the "Washington D.C. Cartel" or "uniparty" shouldn't be picking Montana's next senator, but after the Trump endorsement, as well as some closed-door meetings with Daines, Rosendale said they came to the mutual decision that any chance of victory was impossible.

Rosendale, if he runs for the House, would face a crowded field of primary opponents including former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, who announced his candidacy last week, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen and State Auditor Troy Downing, along with Montana State Sen. Kenneth Bogner, former state senators Ric Holden and Ed Walker, former state representative Joel Krautter, and former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Stacy Zinn.

Business owner and community organizer Kevin Hamm and prominent Billings Democrat Ming Cabrera are running on the other side of the aisle.

Many of the Republican candidates previously said they considered entering the race only after it was clear Rosendale would run for Senate.

The only people who had actually filed with the Montana Secretary of State as of this morning for the House race in District 2 are Joel Krautter, Kyle Austin, Stacy Zinn, Ric Holden and Ming Cabrera.

Rosendale actually still is listed as a Senate candidate on the Secretary of State website.

March 11 is the deadline to file as a candidate.