Montana’s U.S. Senate race took a dramatic turn on Wednesday: A libertarian candidate endorsed his Republican opponent after an illegal campaign mailer tried to siphon votes from the GOP candidate and pave victory for the incumbent Democrat.
Republican Matt Rosendale is in a dead-heat race against Democrat Jon Tester, with polls showing the GOP candidate trailing within the margin of error. Fox News deems the race “leaning Democrat.”
But Libertarian Rick Breckenridge, who has no chance of winning the race, took an unprecedented step in Montana politics and endorsed Rosendale, saying he’s taking a stand against “dark money” in politics.
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The move came after an anonymous campaign mailer from an unknown group, which is a violation of state and federal election laws, went out to people in a bid to garner support for the Libertarian candidate and thus undermine Rosendale’s election chances.
“Matt Rosendale wants to use drones and patrols to spy on our private lives,” the mailer read. “Rick Breckenridge is a true conservative and opposes government intrusion into Montanans' private lives.”
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