Republican Greg Gianforte wins Montana special election

[sandensea]

Source: CNN

Republican Greg Gianforte has won the special election for Montana's open US House seat, CNN projects, defeating Democrat Rob Quist and capping off a whirlwind final 36 hours of the campaign that saw Gianforte being charged for allegedly assaulting a reporter.

With 77% of precincts reporting, Gianforte had 159,757 votes - or 50.4% of the vote, compared to Quist who has 138,325 votes, 43.7% of the vote, according to Edison Research.

Gianforte was considered the favorite heading into Thursday's election to fill the seat once held by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but that was before he allegedly "body-slammed" a reporter during his final campaign event in Bozeman on Wednesday.

By midnight Wednesday, the Gallatin County Sheriff's office had charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/25/politics/montana-special-election-results/

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Montana Sec. of State website: http://mtelectionresults.gov/resultsSW.aspx?typeFED&mapCTY

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Crap! He's live on MSNBC now, congratulating himself...

[sandensea]

9. At least he was brief - his only virtue.

Still, he appears to have won by 6% - in a state Dump carried by 21.

[Rhiannon12866]

11. The news story has gone national, it's baffling that he's willing to appear in public

Let alone to congratulate himself and have the nerve to criticize his opposition.

[sandensea]

13. Lowlifes are usually shameless as well.

An "admirable" trait to many of our fellow Americans, sadly.

[Rhiannon12866]

16. He said he was "sorry" in front of his fans

So I guess he assumes that's all it takes... And who would continue to support him after learning what he was like??? I agree, what currently passes for acceptable behavior in this country now is horrifying...

[sandensea]

18. He'd better practice those crocodile tears.

He'll need them in court once Ben Jacobs drags him there.

[Rhiannon12866]

19. How anyone can countenance having voted for this violent nut job is beyond me

But he's only emulating the despicable behavior that's occurring at a national level.

[sandensea]

21. Let's face it: to many Republicans, ruffians and pirates are aspirational figures.

They're the "men" they wish they could be.

If, God forbid, we all lose our health coverage, childish daydreams like those will be the last thing on their minds.

[Rhiannon12866]

26. We once had heroes in this country, elected officials who inspired us to be better

These days, the majority of news stories on a daily basis are speculating about how and when they broke the law.

And I sure agree. Presidents and members of Congress were elected to make things better for all of us. But the current elections have left us with officials - from the top down - who want to take things away from us and make things more difficult for those who are already struggling. It's not supposed to work that way.

[sandensea]

28. And we mostly have right-wing media to thank for that.

25 years of a well-oiled, corporate-funded scream machine telling low-information voters that Democrats "wanna take all yo' money, trucks, Bibles, and guns - an' give it to the n***ers and fawners" has had a real effect on our politics.

Cheeto and Gianforte were inevitable, given those conditions.

[Rhiannon12866]

32. Trump sure kept his promise and "drained the swamp"

And now the most dangerous monsters have crawled out of the ooze and are walking among us.

[meow2u3]

61. Thugs are Repukes' idea of heroes

So are gangbangers, mobsters, white supremacist gangs, and other criminal figures.

[onecaliberal]

40. Not only did they vote for him he raised quite a bit of money overnight. They're proud.

[Rhiannon12866]

41. It totally boggles the mind...

What's going on now has clearly brought out the worst of us. After decades of progress, making hate acceptable again. It started at the top - and has spread.

[onecaliberal]

42. Yeah, that's what happens when a fascist is elected POTUS.

[Rhiannon12866]

43. And the media has gradually "normalized" this outrageous behavior

We've gotten used to it now, apparently nothing is now shocking or off limits.

[onecaliberal]

58. And there are no actual patriots in the Republican Party.

[milestogo]

2. AP should declare GOP voters of Montana to be deplorable losers

[dalton99a]

10. +1

[Wabbajack_]

3. Can forced resignation be part of a plea deal?

[sandensea]

7. If only!

But the Sherriff's his die-hard supporter, so he's unlikely to cooperate. And once Gianfarte's in Congress, they'll protect him.

Eddie Munster will see to that.

[furtheradu]

4. :(

So sorry, Montana Dems.Rest &KNOW..
KARMA is happening. BELIEVE IT.

[MontanaMama]

29. Thanks furtheradu.

You're one of the few reassuring and supportive folks on here tonight for those of us in Montana grieving another election disaster. Means a lot. I'm feeling pissed and defensive tonight.

[furtheradu]

33. You hang in there, feel Your grief, HEAL..

& when You can, come back & fight.
I'm grieving too, yet I KNOW this mess is temporary. WE keep the Faith, & RESIST.
I KNOW..cuz "I'm south of Texas"
Montana!

[MontanaMama]

66. Holy hell

Yes you do know how it is...

We'll get 'em. The dam is about to burst. Feeling feisty today!!

[jesskirablue42]

5. he says he's sorry

and someone in the crowd yells out "you're forgiven"..

I know the sound of battered wife syndrome when I hear it.

[Dawson Leery]

6. And there it is, American Conservatism with the integrity of Adam Lanza.

[sandensea]

8. Bullies, cads, and crooks are aspirational figures for many of our fellow Americans.

And Gianfarte fits all three.

[hay rick]

12. Montana shit itself.

It is what it is.

[Matthew Rose]

14. There was no 'winner' in this election, only losers

[flibbitygiblets]

15. Can someone explain why the Dem's ran

a banjo player who'd never held, or even run for, any kind of public office before? I'm sure he's a nice guy, but not much of a public service resume, based on his own website.

They could have run a cowboy-hatted toaster oven and not done much worse with Trumpy out there shitting all over America and abroad; but Imagine what could have been accomplished with an actual strategy!

[SunSeeker]

23. Quist was not a bad candidate. It was a low turnout special election in a red state.

And despite all that he only lost by 6 points in a state Trump carried by 20 points.

Let's not beat ourselves up. We have 2018 still coming up and Gianforte will have to run again, this time with everyone knowing (before they vote!) about the assault and how he lied about it.

[MBS]

44. +1 n/t

[hay rick]

30. The party doesn't pick its candidates.

The candidates pick themselves and if there's more than one the voters decide. If there is a good Democratic candidate waiting in the wings it would be difficult to blame him for avoiding a short duration campaign for a low-turnout special election against a candidate with a huge war chest and name recognition left over from a recently failed gubernatorial bid. And the asshole-in-chief carried the state by 20 just 6 months ago. Quist was a sacrificial lamb who did reasonably well.

[former9thward]

56. The party does pick the candidates.

That is exactly what the purpose of the Democratic House Campaign Committee is. They look at potential candidates in every House district and see who is the most viable. They push money to the ones they think can win. If they want candidate A to win the Democratic primary and she has a million dollars as a result and candidate B has $50,000 guess who is going to win?

In many districts the DHCC stays out because they think no Democrat can win. In those districts the voters pick whatever candidate is going to be the "sacrificial lamb" as you put it.

[hay rick]

69. It's a two way street.

Typically candidates in competitive districts try to sell their wares to the DCCC- but that process starts with the candidate deciding they want to run. I live in such a district so I had a front row seat in 2016. The D-trip "word on the street" scared away some candidates but we still ended up with a 3 person primary- won by the well-funded DCCC candidate. He was a lousy political candidate and lost the election.

[llmart]

51. Well, if a reality TV persona...

with zero experience who brags openly about grabbing women and assaulting them can win the Presidency then that sets a precedent for experience not mattering one iota in this country any longer.

It doesn't matter who the Dems would have run. It's Montana.

[Judi Lynn]

17. Does Congress need any more criminals? What a dirty shame. n/t

[sandensea]

25. Ain't it though.

Still, Greedy Greg seems to have won with around 7% - in a state Cheeto carried by 21.

This fits the pattern in all these special elections: a 10-20% shift in favor of Democrats - even when they're being outspent four-to-one, as was the case here.

[ucrdem]

20. Imagine if a Democrat had done that.

It would be game over 5 minutes later and he'd be in a super-max private prison by now.

[Judi Lynn]

22. Remember Susan McDougal went to prison for contempt of court, wore leg irons,

to make sure she wouldn't go wild and trash the place, apparently, thanks to the "wisdom" of Ken Starr, White Water prosecutor against Bill Clinton.

She refused to testify, went to prison, solitary, and wore leg irons. Democrat.

The world was already so damned ugly at the hands of Republicans, even then!

[ucrdem]

27. Medieval.

I'd forgotten that insanity. If this guy had a shred of decency he'd have resigned immediately. If there's a lawsuit he might have to sooner or later, sooner if Montanans don't like being an international laughingstock.

[Juliusseizure]

68. He'd also resign or likely lose the election

Aside from degree of criminal penalty, a dem is much more likely to lose his base of support if he body slammed a news reporter.

In Republican circles, that inevitably gets a chuckle, high-fives, and more donations if the reporter is perceived as a "libtard.". In Dem circles, it generally would invite insults and strong dissent.

[benpollard]

24. Lock him up!!!

That will never happen, though. Conservatives like leaders who act tough and especially if they profess their love for the Great Jebus.

[olddad56]

31. I guess Russia already has Montana locked up.

[sandensea]

34. You're not kidding. Greg the Goon outspent Quist four to one.

My guess is that at least 30% of that were Russian moneys laundered through right-wing SuperPACs and other cutouts.

[BlueStater]

35. Great. They now have a thug congressman to go along with their sexual predator president.

They must be so proud.

[sandensea]

36. The best gummint money can buy.

Putin and all the John Birch boardroom brigands spent big money to make all this happen - four-to-one, in this case.

The John Birchers because they want to live above the law and tax-free.

And Putin because he knows how much damage that would cause America.

[DemKittyNC]

37. This is a new low

for America tonight. I am so depressed, more then usual tonight. Can't even sleep.

[sandensea]

38. Don't be.

Greg the Goon won by around 7% - in a state Cheeto carried by 21.

And this fits the pattern in all these special elections: a 10-20% shift in favor of Democrats - even when they're being outspent four-to-one, as was the case here.

If we can maintain this trend, our next Speaker is Nancy Pelosi.

[DemKittyNC]

39. Thanks

for helping me see a brighter side to this. It is much appreciated.

[Norbert]

45. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter

I mean, seriously, this isn't France. We seem to enjoy fucking ourselves over.

[C_U_L8R]

46. Republicans will regret this

This goober is a real example
of everything that is wrong with
the GOP. It's a PR and political
albatross for them. And we will
gleefully flog them with it in
every upcoming election.

[mdbl]

47. except in Montana where they obviously like this kind of idiot

[mdbl]

48. Prosecute this asshole

I don't care if the voters of Montana are too stupid to make the right decision or not.

[former9thward]

57. Prosecute for what?

Misdemeanor assault is a probation and/or community service sentence everywhere.

[mdbl]

70. ok a civil suit then

just keep this in Montana's face

[videohead5]

49. Remember

I think around 70% had already voted in early voting.if nothing else I think it would have been much much closer if the attack would have happened a couple of weeks ago.

[bucolic_frolic]

50. Body slam rallied his base, grabbed headlines

Can't say it made 7%, but probably awoke the lazy

[wolfie001]

52. I don't understand these RW fuckwits

No do I care to. Hateful, nasty bastards, every one of 'em. Fuck 'em!

[keithbvadu2]

53. Montana suicides

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/07/suicide-rates-rise-butte-montana-princeton-study

[Seasider]

54. That election was over before the body slamming incident

About 2/3rds of Montana voters had already voted before that incident. The Democrats would've needed a huge surge in voter turnout to make a difference and that didn't happen. But even with that incident, Montana is a pretty red state and I'm sure Gianforte's actions pleased voters on the far right who share Trump's disdain of reporters. In their minds, that reporter got what was coming to him.

It also didn't help that the Democrats did not have a very viable candidate in Rob Quist.

[melm00se]

55. I was about to say that

according to one report 259,558 of 357,596 absentee ballots had been returned as of Wednesday night so those votes were already in before Candidate (now Congressman) Chucklehead had his melt down.

This begs the question: Do the benefits of early voting offset the advantages of observing the candidate during the most stressful aspect of the campaign (the last few days of the campaign when all the chips are on the table and everything is on the line)?

[old guy]

59. So much for the Democratic wave that will sweep

us into power and change the direction of the country.

[denvine]

62. So true!

The last couple of years we kept hearing about the death of the Republican Party. The 2016 election was supposed to be a Democratic sweep! We just may have to face the fact that a large percentage of our populace would vote for Charles Manson if he had an (R) behind his name. Until we are able to turn down the noise and lies of FOX and the likes these people are addicted to them. Like Trump said, "I could shoot someone on Fifth Ave. and not lose any voters". This is probably the most insightful phrase he has ever spoken. One of the problems is getting Democrats out to vote. On that note, I feel awful for us as a country today but I particularly feel awful for Montana Democrats today. You are not alone. So many of us feel your pain and disappointment. Hell, I live in Kentucky. Our Senators are F#%king Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul and my Rep is Tea Party Thomas Massie. We can only hope that continued engagement, perseverance and non-stop truth seeking will carry us through this. It also helps that these morons will bury themselves eventually.

[TomCADem]

60. Sanders Focused On Montana, But Ignores Ossoff and Georgia Race

The Montana race was a longshot while the Georgia race is expected to be much closer. Yet, the DNC is deploying Bernie in Montana, but not Georgia?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/sanders-stumps-for-democrat-in-tight-montana-race/2017/05/21/19b280d0-3e34-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html?utm_term=.16a071dea441

BUTTE, Mont. — For months, Democrats were careful not to promise too much about Montana’s May 25 special election. Hillary Clinton had lost the state by 20.2 points. Rob Quist, the folk-singing Democratic candidate for Congress, had never run for office before. Losing a close race would grant a moral victory; raising the stakes and losing might give Republicans a boost.

On Saturday, in front of 3,000 cheering voters at this Democratic city’s Civic Center, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised the stakes.

“The eyes of the country, actually eyes all over the world, are on the great state of Montana,” said Sanders. “People are asking: Is it possible for working people, for seniors, for ordinary people, to come together and successfully defeat a candidate of the millionaires? They’ll know it if you do it in Montana.”

Sanders’s much-anticipated visit kicked off the final stretch of voting in a race that has become closer than either party might have expected. Quist, 69, has raised more than $5 million, nearly doubling the last Democratic candidate for Montana’s sole House seat. Millions of dollars have poured in for Greg Gianforte, 56, a software entrepreneur who won the GOP nomination after narrowly losing the 2016 race for governor — running nearly 10 points behind Donald Trump.

[QC]

65. He's a meanie!!!

[LisaL]

71. DNC is deploying Sanders? Says who?

Sanders isn't even a democrat.

[Bradical79]

63. Early voting won him the election

A large majority of votes were cast already. Heard of a lot of people calling wanting to change their vote, but there's no mechanism for that.

[TryLogic]

64. House of Reps should refuse to seat the Montana body slammer, but

of course, they will look the other way and/or defend him because Republicans have no integrity. No integrity.

[gldstwmn]

67. They should recall him. n/t