GOP 'rabble rouser' has party in a panic over must-win Senate seat: report

A House Republican hardliner’s planned Senate bid has the party establishment worried about his electability in a must-win seat for the GOP, Politico reports.

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) plans to challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) for the seat next year, according to the report, which notes the staunch conservative has the party’s right flank’s support.

But Rosendale’s plans are at odds with party leaders seeking to flip a seat held by Democrats in the ruby-red state.

Politico’s Ally Mutnick and Burgess Everett write that Rosendale’s “timeline is unclear, but any campaign launch could set him on a collision course with Senate GOP leaders who are working to recruit a fresh face for the must-win contest. If Rosendale jumps in, a brutal primary could complicate the party’s chances of retaking the Senate.”

Rosendale in a statement to Politico hinted at a likely run.

The Republican “rabble rouser” took a verbal swipe at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the statement saying the race will be determined “by the people across Montana, not Mitch McConnell. This week, PPP released a poll that reflects Montanans took a major step towards that decision.”

He also cited a poll conducted by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling that shows him with substantial lead over prospective candidate Tim Sheehy. Rosendale enjoys a 54 percentage point lead over Sheehy (64 percent to 10 percent).

Rosendale clashed with the party’s establishment earlier this year when he emerged as one of the leading opponents of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s speakership.

It is not clear whether Rosendale would have former President Donald Trump’s support in a Senate bid.

Mutnick and Everett’s report notes that “Rosendale famously denied a phone conversation with Trump during McCarthy’s run for the speakership.”

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