MT GOP in Disarray: Local Republicans Clash with National Establishment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 11, 2023
CONTACT
rehm@mtdems.org
Helena, MT – Montana Republicans are in disarray following one of the messiest weeks of the GOP Senate primary so far. After the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) attacked Matt Rosendale, Montana GOPers were quick to call out DC Republicans’ candidate Tim Sheehy for being a Mitch McConnell yes-man:
The Montana Freedom Caucus called on Steve Daines to condemn the NRSC spokesperson statement hitting Rosendale. In the letter signed by 21 state legislators, they demanded Daines “publicly reject this week’s unwarranted attack,” calling it a “low and distasteful tactic.”
Former Republican state legislator Roger Koopman published an op-ed in the Billings Gazette and Daily Caller attacking Tim Sheehy for being a McConnell yes-man. In the op-ed, Koopman claims Sheehy “wouldn’t recognize a free market principle or a conservative conviction if it bit him in the money belt” and hits him for “believ[ing] in corporate welfare when it benefits him.”
Local Republican parties across Montana showed support for Rosendale following the NRSC attacks. The Deer Lodge Republicans said Rosendale was “absolutely right about Sheehy.”Republican State Sen. Jeremy Trebas out of Great Falls even suggested Daines should be fired for the NRSC statement. The Gallatin County Republican Women – based out of Bozeman, where Sheehy lives – shared Rosendale’s message on their social media, and the Mineral County Republicans shared pictures of Rosendale’s meeting with Donald Trump.
Amid the chaos, the Montana Libertarian Party criticized the NRSC for their recent statement – and invited those upset to join the “Liberty wing.” Sid Daoud, who is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian, posted on social media a call for Republicans to join the Libertarian Party.
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