Mr. Rosendale entered the Republican primary race less than a week ago, but Donald J. Trump’s quick endorsement of his main rival left him facing an uphill fight.
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Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana had filed to run for the Senate only last week.
Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana, the right-wing candidate vying for the state’s contested Senate seat this year, is dropping out of the Republican primary race, he said in a statement on Thursday.
He announced his withdrawal less than a week after he formally entered the race. Just hours after he began his campaign, former President Donald J. Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy, a businessman and retired Navy SEAL who was Mr. Rosendale’s opponent in the primary. With the party establishment lining up behind Mr. Sheehy and Mr. Trump also lending his support, Mr. Rosendale struggled to see a path forward.
“By my calculations, with Trump endorsing my opponent and the lack of resources, the hill was just too steep,” Mr. Rosendale said in a statement, adding that he had spoken with Steve Daines, the state’s Republican senator, who is also in charge of Senate Republicans’ re-election efforts. “We both agree that this is the best path forward for Republicans to regain the majority in the U.S. Senate.”
The news of Mr. Rosendale’s withdrawal was earlier reported by Politico. Mr. Rosendale did not say whether he would endorse Mr. Sheehy. The news sets up Mr. Sheehy as a favorite to secure the nomination and face Jon Tester, a popular yet vulnerable Democratic incumbent, in November.
It also offers Republicans another boost in their efforts to regain control of the closely divided Senate. By nipping in the bud what could have been a bruising primary fight, Republicans can now coalesce behind Mr. Sheehy and focus on ousting Mr. Tester heading into the fall. His seat, in a deeply red state, is considered one of the most vulnerable on the Senate map, along with those of Democratic incumbents in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada and the Arizona seat held by Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent who has not yet said whether she’s running for re-election. Senator Joe Manchin’s retirement in deep-red West Virginia offers Republicans another seat to flip.
And they got good news last week when Larry Hogan, the popular former Republican governor of Maryland, said he would run for the state’s open Senate seat, potentially expanding the map of possible pickups even further.
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Source: nytimes.com
