A major Montana newspaper lambasted Democratic congressional candidate Rob Quist as an "entertainer who can't keep track of his own finances" before endorsing his Republican opponent, Greg Gianforte, in an editorial published Sunday.
The Billings Gazette editorial board described its interviews with each candidate for Montana's special election in harsh terms in Sunday's editorial. However, the paper repeatedly attacked Quist for not articulating his stances on or knowledge of legislative issues, at one point writing:
We'd like to comment more on Quist's political stances but from our editorial board interview, it seems like all Quist wants to talk about is how bad Gianforte is. We don't have a clue where Quist stands on most issues, and his criticism of Gianforte seems to be either confused or completely without merit–for example, claiming that Gianforte had "Russian ties" when really the Republican merely has stock in a mutual fund.
The editorial board added that "Quist seems unable to tell the truth about his own finances and may even be ducking property taxes that most of us would have to pay."
The Gazette continued its assault, boiling the election down to a race between "an entertainer who can't keep track of his own finances, or a very successful businessman who has given millions to charitable causes."
The Billings Gazette Editorial Board has made its endorsement in the U.S. House race. #mtpol #mtal https://t.co/Ickoc9SSUJ
— Billings Gazette (@billingsgazette) May 14, 2017
The paper's justification for endorsing Gianforte was his successful track record as a Montana businessman and his full grasp of issues being debated in Washington D.C., concluding that the Republican is the "most qualified candidate Montana voters have to choose from."
The special election for Montana's lone congressional seat–which was vacated by Ryan Zinke when President Trump tapped him to serve as secretary of the interior–has attracted national attention. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) plans to campaign with Quist, while Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. will make appearances with Gianforte.
Voters will cast their ballots on May 25. According to recent polling, Gianforte holds a comfortable lead in the race, although Quist appears to be closing the gap days before the election.