Rick Breckenridge, center, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, withdrew from the race Wednesday and endorsed Republican candidate Matt Rosendale, left. His move was prompted by a campaign mailer, seen above, that was apparently illegally mailed to voters in Montana. (Courtesy images)
Originally published for the 11/2/18 print edition of Yellowstone County News.
HUNTLEY — Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Rick Breckenridge ended his campaign and endorsed Republican Matt Rosendale on Wednesday, citing an illegal campaign mailer that promoted his “conservative” values.
In a telephone conference call with Montana reporters, Breckenridge said he may receive only 3 to 4 percent of the vote next week, and leaving the race may allow his voters to support Rosendale instead. He said Rosendale could fight illegal campaign contributions and help preserve Montanans’ liberties.
In Yellowstone County, elections administrator Bret Rutherford said anyone who has already voted would not be able to submit a new ballot, even if one candidate had left the Senate race.
“If we have your ballot and it’s checked in, its just the same as it being in the ballot box,” he said Wednesday afternoon.
The Wednesday morning call was originally announced as a discussion of “illegal campaigning by unnamed parties that are trying to influence voters in Montana.”
The speakers did not take questions from reporters during the call.
At issue is a campaign flier delivered to some Montana voters’ mailboxes this week that contains no disclaimer indicating the source of the flier or who paid for its distribution. This falls under illegal “dark money” political activity in Montana. It was not clear how many voters received the postcard or where it was delivered.
The mailer touts Breckenridge as “a true conservative” who “opposes government intrusion into Montanans’ private lives.”
The mailer does not mention Sen. Jon Tester, but Breckenridge said Wednesday that it was intended to draw support away from Rosendale to Breckenridge, which could improve Tester’s election results.
Rosendale spokesman Shane Scanlon said in a memo attached to the press conference notice that the campaign mailer reflects “a tried and true playbook for Tester and his allies in Montana.”
The Tester campaign said it was not connected to the flier and that Tester also apposes “dark money” or unidentified campaign contributions.
Breckenridge said he had heard from many Montana voters that despite their interest in his candidacy, “We can’t vote for you because the other guy will win.”
Moving even a small percentage of voters from him to one of the other candidates could sway the election results, Breckenridge said.
He said he believes Rosendale is the candidate best suited to help the state’s 28,000 veterans.
“I’m standing in unity… with Matt,” he said. Breckenridge said election polls show he’s unlikely to prevail in the election, but believes Rosendale is the candidate “to be the front man in the cause of liberty.”
Rosendale said he was honored by the endorsement. He said he shared Breckenridge’s “commitment to veterans” and to “exposing this illegal dark money mailer which was distributed by Tester allies.”
Breckenridge is deputy treasurer of the Montana Libertarian Party and Lake County Central Committee chairman. He was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016; he replaced Libertarian Mike Fellows after he was killed in a car crash in September 2016.
Editors Note: Rick Breckenridge did not technically end his campaign as his name cannot be removed off the ballots as of October 31, 2018. However, Rick did endorse Matt Rosendale essentially ending his run for the US Senate.
