Republican businessman Greg Gianforte won the special election for Montana’s open House seat Thursday, one day after instigating a violent confrontation with a reporter that his campaign blamed on the journalist and left him with a misdemeanor assault charge. The altercation didn’t stop him from capturing…
Republican businessman Greg Gianforte won the special election for Montana’s open House seat Thursday, one day after instigating a violent confrontation with a reporter that his campaign blamed on the journalist and left him with a misdemeanor assault charge.
The altercation didn’t stop him from capturing 50 percent of the vote against opponent Rob Quist’s 44 percent, according to the most recent tally from Decision Desk HQ, a favorable result that hardly seemed in doubt after almost two-thirds of the ballots were cast in early voting in the GOP-friendly state.
In victory, a contrite Gianforte took a different tone than the statement his spokesman issued late Thursday, which rapped the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs for “aggressive behavior” and presented an alternate version of events than what the reporter captured on audio. Jacobs said Gianforte “body-slammed” him after becoming incensed over a question about the House health care bill, a recap that mirrored what Jacobs got on tape.
“Last night, I learned a lesson, ” Gianforte said at a rally in Bozeman. A smattering of his supporters responded with chuckles and comments. “No, please. I need to share something from my heart here. And I just ask you to bear with me. When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. That’s the Montana way. Last night I made a mistake. And I took an action that I can’t take back. And I’m not proud of what happened. I should not have responded in the way that I did. And for that, I’m sorry. I should not have treated that reporter that way. And for that, I’m sorry, Mr. Ben Jacobs.”
Gianforte also apologized to a Fox News crew that was in the room with him and Jacobs at the time of their encounter. The eyewitnesses said Gianforte “grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him, ” and “then began punching the reporter.” The author of the Fox News account later clarified that Gianforte had one hand on each side of Jacobs’s neck, a detail that did not alter her previous retelling.
Republican leaders were largely quiet in the lead-up to poll closures. But Steve Daines, a GOP senator from Montana, and House speaker Paul Ryan both called on Gianforte to apologize. “There’s never a call for physical altercations, ” Ryan said during a press conference on Thursday.
Ryan’s campaign spokesman congratulated Gianforte early Friday. “Elections are about choices and Montanans made their choice—selecting Greg Gianforte to represent them in Congress, ” Zack Roday said in a statement. “Rep.-elect Gianforte is an outsider with real-world experience creating jobs in Montana. He will bring that experience to Congress, where he will be a valuable voice in the House Republican Conference.”
Gianforte and Quist were polar opposites in the race: The Republican had electoral experience from a previous but failed run at the Montana governorship last year, whereas Quist was a novice. Gianforte appeared with Donald Trump, Jr. and Vice President Mike Pence; the Democrat rallied with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Sen. Daines said that fact—Quist’s embrace of the Democratic left in a state that typically rewards Democratic moderates—would sink Quist. “Rob Quist is too liberal for Montana—he is very liberal, ” Daines told Politico. “Democrats who have won statewide in Montana tend to be moderate, and Quist is no moderate.”
Look no further than the state’s governor, Steve Bullock—one of the nation’s most popular state executives and the man who defeated Gianforte to win re-election in 2016.
