Club for Growth walks back from plan to support Rosendale in Montana Senate race

The Club for Growth on Monday indicated that it is walking back from its plan to support Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) in the Montana Senate race and said that it has not decided whether to back him amid interest in the candidacy of former Navy Seal officer Tim Sheehy, who they consider an “impressive candidate.” 

David McIntosh, the head of Club for Growth, told reporters at a background briefing on Monday evening that it has not fully thrown its weight behind a Rosendale bid for the upper chamber and said that the conservative group has become impressed with Sheehy, the preferred candidate of GOP groups. 

When asked about the Senate candidates the Club is backing, McIntosh namechecked Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) in his primary bid against West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R), as well as Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). He did not mention Rosendale among that group and said that he is awaiting word on whether the 2018 GOP nominee will launch a campaign for Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) seat.

“Matt’s somebody we supported last time around. We think enormously of him. … We’re proud of what he’s doing in the House” McIntosh said, noting that Rosendale’s district was included on the list of 20 the group plans to put $20 million behind to defend in 2024. 

The Club has been widely expected to back Rosendale, who they supported in the 2018 race. McIntosh told reporters at a similar briefing back in February that if Rosendale jumped in the race, he’d be a candidate “we’d want to support again.” 

McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman, went on to say that the group met recently with Sheehy, adding that the Club found him to be “an impressive candidate” and citing his background as a CEO and businessman as “motivating factors.” 

“Matt has not yet decided to run. If he does, we’re going to take a close look at that race and figure out what the best answer is,” McIntosh said, adding that he did not mean to “discount” Rosendale by omitting him from the list. “It’s just [that] he hasn’t decided yet whether to run.” 

“We’re still in the process of deciding and we’ll have to continue to do that,” McIntosh added about the race. 

If Rosendale were to run without the support of the Club, he would be deprived of potentially one of his biggest financial benefactors in what would be expensive primary and general election contests. The Montana congressman is widely considered a poor fundraiser in GOP circles, an issue that was only exacerbated by his decision to oppose Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in his battle for the gavel earlier this year. A Rosendale spokesperson in a statement downplayed the comments and pointed to a “very strong relationship” between him and the Club.“Rep. Rosendale received a 100% on their scorecard in 2021, has a lifetime rating of 100%, and has been endorsed by them several times,” said Aashka Varma, a Rosendale spokesperson, in a statement. “The Club for Growth isn’t going to support someone that has already pledged allegiance to Mitch McConnell and the DC cartel.”

As for Sheehy, he is a top recruit of Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and has already won the support of a number of conservative Senate Republicans and leading Montana office holders. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) and Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the other congressman from the state, have both thrown their backing behind Sheehy, who also has the ability to self-fund. 

McIntosh noted that Rosendale remains popular with activists in his home state and that he maintains high name-ID with voters, especially in his district. 

However, he indicated that Sheehy’s presence is looming large for the group, adding that the newly-minted candidate has already started spending on biographical ads in the state. 

Rosendale teased a potential run in late June, pointing to a survey released by a Democratic polling firm that indicated he would be in a strong position if he were to run.