Rosendale wins Montana GOP Senate primary, to face Tester
HELENA, Mont. — Montana State Auditor Matthew Rosendale won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday in the race to challenge Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in November.
Rosendale, who has support from deep-pocketed Republican donors who want to deny Tester a third term, defeated three other candidates in the GOP primary.
“This win is just the first lap, and we’ve got a lot of race in front of us,” he said.
The campaign grew heated when former Judge Russ Fagg said Rosendale, 57, would go easy on “illegal immigrants who commit murder.” Political committees backing Rosendale hit back with attacks on Fagg’s judicial record.