Current:Home > StocksFrom his Montana ranch, a retired lawmaker in a crowded House race is angling for a comeback -FutureFinance
From his Montana ranch, a retired lawmaker in a crowded House race is angling for a comeback
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:43:32
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — From a ranch in one of America’s largest and newest congressional districts, where agriculture and Republicans dominate, a retired six-term Montana lawmaker and grandfather is taking an unlikely path in search of a political comeback.
Former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, 68, is more than a decade removed from a failed U.S. Senate bid.
Now in a crowded field for an open seat without a clear frontrunner, he’s raised little money, hasn’t shown up much on the campaign trail and skipped the only broadcast debate leading up to Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Rehberg jumped into the race after firebrand conservative incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale dropped out amid clashes with party leaders.
His opponents suggest Rehberg’s time has passed. And he’s been vastly outspent by opponent Troy Downing, the state’s insurance commissioner, whose donations and loans to his own campaign equal the campaign chests of the other candidates combined.
Election to the House has historically offered Montana politicians a springboard to higher office including U.S. Senate, governor and the White House Cabinet. The district was created following the 2020 Census when population growth earned Montana a second seat in the House.
During an interview at his house on the outskirts of Billings, Montana’s largest city, Rehberg repeatedly held up a book by former Trump administration Interior Secretary David Barnhardt. But he told The Associated Press that unlike former President Donald Trump or Rosendale — who drew backlash for helping oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — he’s not a “bomb thrower.”
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s complete coverage of this year’s election.
“If that’s what the people of Montana want, I’m not it,” Rehberg said.
“I want to work within the system,” he added. “And I don’t think that throwing bombs is the best way.”
Rehberg cited his grandchildren and the chance to make a difference in their lives as his motivation for running. He might also be seeking to rehabilitate his image after his bruising last race, said Montana State University political scientist Eric Raile.
“The 2012 U.S. Senate election against Jon Tester was a rough one,” Raile said.
The congressional district sprawls across across more than 100,000 square miles (260,000 square kilometers) of mostly open space from the North Dakota border to Helena. Its voters are overwhelmingly white. About 7% are Native American.
Rehberg, Downing and state schools Superintendent Elsie Arntzen have infused their campaigns with hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal loans as they compete in a seven-way competition that includes state Senate President Pro Tempore Ken Bogner and former state Rep. Joel Krautter, who is backed by a former Republican governor.
Downing, whose loans top $1 million, has also benefited from almost $500,000 in spending on his behalf by a Washington, D.C.-area political group, the Defend American Jobs SuperPAC, that’s funded largely by California-based donors, federal election data shows. He told the AP that he wouldn’t join the conservative Freedom Caucus, as Rosendale did.
“I don’t ever want to be in a position where I am representing a caucus rather than my constituents,” he said.
Arntzen is perhaps the most conservative of the candidates in Montana’s primary.
“Recognizing who Montana is right now means that we are based on Christian faith, we are based on freedoms, we are based very much on local government control and not a top down, heavy mandate,” said Arntzen, who opposes transgender girls participating in girls’ athletics.
Rehberg is optimistic Montana residents will remember him despite his long absence from politics. Since his 2012 loss, Rehberg started and shuttered a string of fast food franchises and lost vision in one eye. His wife Jan — his sole campaign volunteer — drives him at night, Rehberg said.
“My philosophy hasn’t changed since I first ran in 1984. I’m the same person as when I first ran for office,” he said. “A little older.”
___
Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.
veryGood! (58457)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- The Daily Money: Gas prices ease
- Teen boy dies after leading officers on chase, fleeing on highway, police say
- The Ultimate Labor Day 2024 Sales Guide: 60% Off J.Crew, 70% Off Michael Kors, 70% Off Kate Spade & More
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Former California employee to get $350K to settle sexual harassment claims against state treasurer
- Mississippi sues drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers over opioids
- No criminal charges for driver in school bus crash that killed 6-year-old, mother
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- New Grant Will Further Research to Identify and Generate Biomass in California’s North San Joaquin Valley
Ranking
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Child abuse images removed from AI image-generator training source, researchers say
- From 'The Fall Guy' to Kevin Costner's 'Horizon,' 10 movies you need to stream right now
- Court stops Pennsylvania counties from throwing out mail-in votes over incorrect envelope dates
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Court stops Pennsylvania counties from throwing out mail-in votes over incorrect envelope dates
- What we know about bike accident that killed Johnny Gaudreau, NHL star
- Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge shows price pressures easing as rate cuts near
Recommendation
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Toyota recalls 43,000 Sequoia hybrids for risk involving tow hitch covers
Arizona office worker found dead in a cubicle 4 days after last scanning in
2024 Paris Paralympics: Paychecks for Medal Winners Revealed
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
NYC Environmental Justice Activists Feel Ignored by the City and the Army Corps on Climate Projects
Botic van de Zandschulp stuns Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in second round of US Open
Judge rejects claims that generative AI tanked political conspiracy case against Fugees rapper Pras