GOP House candidate who assaulted reporter wins Montana election
Greg Gianforte, the Republican businessman facing charges for assaulting a reporter, won the special election in Montana for an open congressional seat.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican businessman facing charges for assaulting a reporter and body-slamming him to the ground, won the special election in Montana for an open congressional seat.
Gianforte is now an issue for Republicans after he was caught on audio recording body-slamming reporter Ben Jacobs during a confrontation. Witnesses corroborated the events, but Gianforte won the election despite the massive controversy and backlash that followed.
This is probably due to the fact that more than two thirds of the vote had already been cast before the news of the assault broke, since most people in Montana vote by mail.
Still, the margin was close, at 51-44 percent when the race was called, which gives Democrats some hope in a race that was decided by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election, in Donald Trump’s favor.
During his victory speech, Gianforte addressed the controversy and the assault, saying, “When you make a mistake you have to own up to it. Last night I made a mistake… I’m sorry.”
Progressives disappointed with the election results are likely to point out that Rob Quist, the country singer running as a Democrat in this race, received very little support from the party, while Gianforte received millions from the Republicans.
Still, Republicans now have to answer for the fact that one of their own elected officials is now facing assault charges.
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