Matt Rosendale Drops House Re-Election Bid Amid 'Defamatory Rumors'

Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale announced the suspension of his House re-election bid in the state's 2nd Congressional District over "defamatory rumors."

The Republican said that the current attacks against him have taken a toll on him and have forced him to end his re-election efforts. This comes after he also dropped out from the Montana Senate race less than a week after entering it in February earlier this year.

Matt Rosendale Drops House Re-Election Bid

Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale drops House re-election bid following threats and "defamatory rumors" against him and his family.
(Photo : Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

In a statement after announcing his campaign suspension, Rosendale said that law enforcement had visited his children because of a death threat against him. He also cited that there were false and defamatory rumors that were made against him and his family.

The GOP representative noted that the situation has had negative impacts on him and his family. He added that it also caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02, according to Fox News.

Rosendale's remarks seemed to have been referring to rumors from former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. The latter alleged that Rosendale dropped out of the Senate race and was considering resigning from Congress because he impregnated a 20-year-old staff person.

The Montana official's office vehemently denied the claim, arguing that it was completely false and defamatory. Rosendale has been threatening to take legal action against the former senator and his attorneys filed a litigation hold notice. This was essentially a notice to preserve documents.

The Republican appeared to be determined to allay the rumors about him and his wife said that they were "lies" and were "100% false and are political mudslinging at its worst." However, nine days after saying that he was staying in politics, he threw in the towel.

In a Friday statement, Rosendale said that public service has always been about serving and not titles or positions of power. He argued that the current attacks against him made it impossible for him to focus on his work and serve the people, said The Daily Beast.

Threats and Defamatory Rumors

Prior to announcing the suspension of his Senate bid, Rosendale had been teasing it for nearly a year. However, with relatively poor fundraising, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign worked to box him out of the primary. Conservative organizations and Trumworld allies told the Montana official that they would not support his candidacy.

Republican lawmakers view the Montana Senate seat as one of their best chances to flip a Democrat-held seat. However, Senate GOP leadership was concerned that Rosendale's campaign could significantly hinder their chances of winning it.

The 63-year-old was initially elected to Congress in 2020 and won the Montana seat that Gov. Greg Gianforte left open when he ran for the gubernatorial position. His Senate run was cut short after Tim Sheehy, another Republican, received the endorsement of former United States President Donald Trump.

Another blow to Rosendale was when House Speaker Mike Johnson reversed his plans to endorse the Montana official. The communications director for the speaker's political operation, Greg Steele, said that John had planned to send a contribution to Rosendale but has not "made any endorsements in the Senate races," according to The Hill.