The non-partisan election forecaster Cook Political Report shifted the open seat in Montana’s At-Large District from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” signaling that Republicans’ work to hold onto this open seat is quickly disappearing as Kathleen Williams’ campaign builds momentum.
The Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman cited Kathleen Williams’ local brand and impressive fundraising, against a damaged candidate in Matt Rosendale who “sports high residual negatives from 2018,” following his failed Senate run.
“Maryland Matt Rosendale is clearly defined for Montanans and they don’t like what they’ve seen. In stark contrast, Kathleen Williams is running a strong grassroots campaign connected with the voters on the issues they care the most about. Folks across the country are taking notice of the campaign she’s running, and they’re right to recognize that she is putting this race on the map,” said DCCC Spokesperson Andy Orellana.
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MT-AL: Open (R) – Lean Republican.
Democrats haven’t won a House race in Montana since 1994, but Democrat Kathleen Williams came within five points of unseating GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte in 2018 and is back for the open seat now that Gianforte is running for governor. In November, she’ll face GOP state Auditor Matt Rosendale, who lost to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018 but won the June 2 primary with 48 percent.
Williams, a former state legislator from Bozeman, raised $4.2 million last cycle with the help of EMILY’s List and has raised $1.6 million so far for 2020 [and] is getting an earlier start and has hired a different media firm that will showcase her hunting, angling and driving thousands of miles across the state in her camper…
More importantly, Williams got the opponent she wanted in Rosendale. Rosendale is backed by the conservative Club for Growth but sports high residual negatives from 2018, when Tester and Democrats spent over $30 million in 2018 playing up his East Coast roots and calling him “Maryland Matt.”
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