Montana Senate Candidate Accused of Illegal NRA Coordination

Urging the Federal Election Commission to take action, two nonprofits said Monday that a Montana Republican running for Senate let slip that he had illegally coordinated with the National Rifle Association.

As described in the complaint, the reference by Senate candidate Matt Rosendale to his illegal campaign support occurred this past July at a campaign event in Washington, D.C. Rosendale, who is running against Democratic Senator Jon Tester, assured his audience that his campaign had support from a number of outside groups, including the NRA.

“The Supreme Court confirmations are big — that’s why what sent the NRA over the line,” Rosendale said, according to a transcript of a recording obtained by The Daily Beast. Referring to the executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, Rosendale said: “Chris Cox told me — he was like, ‘well, we’re gonna be in this race.’”

Though the ads would not run until weeks later, the Campaign Legal Center notes in its FEC complaint that Rosendale managed to accurately describe both their content and their timing at his Washington event. “Although FEC inaction in recent years has helped open a number of loopholes allowing outside groups to work closely with candidates, the conduct here crosses a legal line,” Brendan Fischer, a director of the center’s federal reform program said in a statement Monday.

Read the full article.