Montana Rep. Rosendale drops US House reelection bid, citing rumors and death threat

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana abruptly dropped his reelection bid on Friday — the second time in the past month that the hardline conservative lawmaker has entered and then quickly dropped out of a congressional race.

Rosendale cited defamatory rumors and a death threat against him that prompted the lawmaker to call law enforcement to check on his children as reasons for retiring at the end of his term in January 2025.

“This has taken a serious toll on me and my family,” Rosendale said in a social media post, adding that “the current attacks have made it impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you.”

Rosendale is serving his second term in the House. On Feb. 9 he filed for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jon Tester — even though Republican leaders had endorsed former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy.

Dozens of conservative state lawmakers had encouraged Rosendale to run and his entry into the Senate race threatened to splinter the party in the leadup to the June 4 primary.

But under pressure from GOP leaders Rosendale dropped out of the Senate race just six days later, citing former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Sheehy and the inability to raise enough money for a Senate campaign. He filed for reelection to his House seat on Feb. 28, he said, “at the urging of many, including several of the current candidates.”

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Montana judge declares 3