Montana’s Republican U.S. Senate primary is reaching the final stretch as candidates aim to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in November, The Hill reported.
Matt Rosendale, the state auditor, is seen as the top contender, with national outside groups adding $1.8 million to help him in the June 5 primary, the report said.
Along with Rosendale, candidates include retired District Court Judge Russ Fagg, businessman Troy Downing, and state Sen. Al Olszewski, The Hill reported.
Rosendale has cast his sights on the general election against Tester, while pointing to his conservative record.
Fagg, a fourth-generation Montana native, has aimed at Rosendale for residing in Montana only since the 2000s. GOP strategists say his support comes from the state’s "old school establishment,"The Hill reported.
Downing, a veteran of two combat tours in Afghanistan, has sought to frame himself as a political outsider like President Donald Trump.
Olszewski has brought in support from the Republican Party’s grass roots, the report said.
Tester drew fire from President Donald Trump after the Democratic senator helped sink Trump’s nomination of Ronny Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. "I know things about Tester that I could say too, and if I said ‘em, he’d never be elected again,"Trump said on April 27.
That feud could provide the eventual GOP nominee with an easy way to tie himself to Trump, the report said.
Trump taking an interest in the race would be a boon to the eventual candidate, a Republican strategist said.
"If Donald Trump follows through on his threat to face down with Jon Tester, depending on how often and if he does it effectively, I don’t think it’ll matter which Republican is running," said a Montana Republican strategist, The Hill reported.
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