Rosendale rejects affair allegation, mum on House race

The representative for Montana’s Eastern District recalled the end of his Senate campaign on Saturday, informing the FEC that he was activating his House campaign committee and candidate status.

Spokeswoman Aashka Varma told the Lee Montana newspaper on Saturday that there would be no announcement about Rosendale’s future before the weekend.

Separately, former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, ​​now a political pundit, suggested on Monday that Rosendale would resign soon and ended her US Senate campaign after six days due to an affair.

“Just a little rumor, I think your caucus could lose a member in the next few days. It could be the congressman from Montana,” Heitkamp said, speaking of the House Republican caucus on the “Talking Feds” podcast. “Just to gossip a little, there’s a reason Rosendale dropped out of that Senate race. The rumor is that he got a 20-year employee pregnant.”

Varma said Heitkamp’s accusation was false.

“It is 100% false and defamatory and former Senator Heitkamp will soon have a hearing with our lawyers,” Varma said. The congressman’s chief of staff did not say whether Rosendale would resign.

When Rosendale ended his brief Senate campaign, he indicated that a lack of funds, along with Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican candidate Tim Sheehy, drove his decision.

It is unclear whether Rosendale’s return to a House campaign committee indicates a run for re-election, although several Montana news outlets concluded that it did. Coverage of Rosendale’s political intentions had been intense for many months prior to her Senate campaign announcement on February 9.

In Montana’s Eastern House District, eight Republicans had lined up to replace Rosendale when he announced for the Senate, and several announced they would not run for the House if Rosendale sought re-election. Meanwhile, hardline conservatives were looking forward to a Rosendale Senate campaign and a possible rematch of his failed challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

All of the Republican candidates for Rosendale’s district told Lee Montana newspapers that they now intend to run regardless of what Rosendale does. Likewise, Democratic primary opponents Kevin Hamm and Ming Cabrera were unfazed by Rosendale’s unpredictability.

Primary voting begins on May 6, in less than 75 days.

Rosendale has not registered as a House candidate with the Montana Secretary of State, as required to appear on the ballot in 2024. The deadline to do so is March 11. He is no longer listed as a House or Senate candidate with WinRed, the Republican Party’s small donation fundraising account.