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Voters give Gianforte Montana's House seat

After an 85-day race that received national attention, Republican Greg Gianforte won the special election for Montana's only seat in the U.S House of Representatives Thursday, staving off a challenge from Democrat and political newcomer Rob Quist, though Gianforte lost Hill County by 17 votes.

Gianforte, a retired high-tech entrepreneur who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock last year, defeated Quist, a co-founder of the Mission Mountain Wood Band 51 percent to 44 percent. Libertarian  Mark Wicks, an Inverness rancher and chair of the Libertarian Party of the Hi-Line, garnered 6 percent.

The Secretary of State's website says 54.22 percent of registered Montana voters had cast ballots.

Hill County Republican Party Chair Andrew Brekke said this morning that he is glad, Gianforte, who he said he has known for eight years, won.

The last day of the race saw Gianforte charged with misdemeanor assault after he was accused of throwing down reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian at the campaign's Bozeman headquarter when he asked Gianforte a question about the Congressional Budget Office score of a Republican backed health care bill that has narrowly passed the House but not the Senate.

Gianforte, who was being interviewed by a Fox News Network team at the time, told Jacobs he would talk to him later and referred him to a staff member before scuffling noises and a crash are heard on Jacobs' recording.

During his victory celebration Thursday night, Gianforte, who had not made any public statements previously, said he accepted responsibility for the incident.

"Last night I made a mistake and I took an action I can't take back and I am not proud of what happened," Gianforte told the crowd. "I should not have responded the way I did and for that I am sorry."

Brekke said he was dumbfounded by the incident, adding that it was out of character and something must have gone awry.

Despite the coverage though, Brekke said, he did not think the incident would change the race. People in Montana know who Gianforte is, and many people had voted absentee before Thursday, he said.

Former Hill County Democratic Central Committee Chair Brenda Skornogoski also said the fact that so many voters had voted absentee before Tuesday night reduced the impact of the incident.

"I think it will likely have a much smaller effect because of early voting," she said before the final results were in.

Skornogoski said she heard people had been calling the Montana Secretary of State's office wanting to change their votes, something people aren't legally allowed to do in Montana.    

Gianforte won the race in dominating fashion, beating second-place Quist by 6 percent, 22,989 votes. Wicks earned 21,509 votes with his six percent.

In Hill County, Gianforte and Quist each received 44 percent and Hill County native Wicks received 12 percent.

The margin for Gianforte was a substantial improvement over his showing in November's gubernatorial race, where he lost the county by 17 percent.

Quist took Blaine County with 49 percent to Gianforte's 43 percent, while Wicks received 9 percent.

Gianforte won Chouteau County with 58 percent to Quist's 33 percent, while Wicks captured 9 percent.

Gianforte also won Liberty County 58 percent to Quist's 25 percent, with Wicks taking 17 percent.

Gianforte will fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Ryan Zinke in March when he resigned to become Interior secretary in President Donald Trump's cabinet.

Local Republicans did not have an election-watching gathering, but Hill County Democrats gathered at the Havre Eagles Club to watch the election. As results trickled in, attendees sat watching CNN and their phones.

"I don't know what is going to happen, if you want to know the truth," Debi Friede a former chair of the Hill County Democratic Central Committee, said before the final results were announced. "It's  going to be close either way, but I think we have a really good shot at it."  

The night marked the end of a campaign that featured high profile surrogates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, who stumped for Quist in several cities throughout Montana last weekend. Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. also made visits to the state to rouse support for Gianforte.

Friede said the campaign had been hard, especially with money from the campaigns and outside groups being poured into negative ads.  She said the ads sought to tie Quist to  House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

"For some reason, they thought Nancy Pelosi was running in Montana, that one annoyed me the most," Friede said. The ads, she said, sent her two messages about the conservative groups: they don't like strong women in politics and a lacked damaging things to say about Quist.

As the night went on, the mood became grew less optimistic. Yellowstone County, which includes Billings, came in  with Gianforte leading Quist by a large margin.

Shortly before the Associated Press projected Gianforte the winner, Jacob Bachmeier, a state representative and chair of the Hill County Democratic Central Committee, applauded Quist for exciting the Democratic party's core supporters and visiting rural areas to seek votes in areas he said Democrats typically neglect

Bachmeier said the party needs to run candidates more reflective of the fiercely independent spirit Montanans exhibit.

"I think Montanans do have a very independent quality about them, and I think that is what we need to look for in a candidate, someone who can stand up to the party and do what is best for the state," Bachmeier said,.

Quist portrayed himself openly as a socialist, something that may have turned off some voters, Bachmeier said.

Others said there was little else the Democrats could have done differently to win back a seat they have not held since 1996.

"We fought hard. We walked away with everything on the table," Friede said.

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Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

 

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