Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., has ended his Senate campaign less than a week after launch.
“As everyone knows, I plan to run for the United States Senate and win both the primary and the general election,” Rosendale, a campaign consultant, said in a statement shared with NBC News. “However, on the day I announced, President Trump announced his support for another candidate.”
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Trump is backing political newcomer Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and aerospace entrepreneur who has also been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Rosendale’s decision is a victory for the NRSC, which hopes to avoid a messy and expensive primary in a state where the party hopes to unseat longtime Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Rosendale lost to Tester in 2018.
Rosendale said in a statement that he had spoken with another Montana senator, Steve Daines, who chairs the NRSC, “and we both agree that this is the best way forward for Republicans to regain their majority in the United States Senate.”
“This race was already going to be difficult because I was struggling [Senate GOP Leader] Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican establishment in Washington,” Rosendale said. “But I felt I could beat them because the voters don’t agree on who will be the next U.S. senator from Montana.”
“But,” Rosendale added, “in my estimation, the hill was too steep with Trump backing my opponent and the lack of resources.”
Asked about Trump’s endorsement of Sheehy earlier Thursday, before he announced his departure, Rosendale said: “I would certainly say I would prefer to go the other way.”
Rosendale’s nomination has caused tension in Trump’s world. This was reported by NBC News last week. Advisers and allies close to the former president saw Rosendale as insufficiently loyal, and were particularly disappointed that Rosendale waited so long to endorse Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
“I appreciate Matt’s many years of service to Montana,” Daines said in a statement Thursday evening. “All Republicans will work together to defeat Jon Tester in November.”
Sheehy had kind words for Rosendale and celebrated together Thursday night Type in X.
“Matt, Montana is grateful for your service and for showing Washington what it means to hold the line on reckless spending,” Sheehy wrote. “I know if we work together we will win this race and beat Jon Tester.”
Democrats vying for a hostile GOP primary continued to highlight the divide.
“For months, Rosendale has argued that Tim Sheehy is unfit to represent Montana in the Senate, and he was right,” Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, said in an emailed statement Thursday. “Sheehy is an out-of-state tech millionaire completely removed from the Montana way of life.”