'Taken a serious toll': GOP rep announces retirement after getting death threats from MAGA

08 March 2024

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Montana) is now no longer running for reelection, citing death threats against him and his family.

Even though he didn't mention Trump by name, Rosendale notably attributed his exit from the House of Representatives to a slew of threats he got after announcing he was running in Montana's Republican US Senate primary against businessman Tim Sheehy, whom Trump has already endorsed. Even though Rosendale dropped out of the Senate race last month, he said the severity of the threats has continued unabated, requiring him to leave public office.

"I withdrew [from the US Senate race] as soon as possible so as not to jeopardize the opportunity for Republicans to secure that seat," Rosendale stated. "Upon withdrawing from that race, and again at the urging of many, including several of the current candidates, I filed to run for reelection to my current seat."

"Since that announcement, I have been forced to have law enforcement visit my children because of a death threat against me and false and defamatory rumors against me and my family," he continued. "This has taken a serious toll on me, and my family."

"So, in the best interest of my family and the community, I am withdrawing from the House race and will not be seeking office," he added.

Rosendale, who has been in Congress since 2021, lost to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) in the 2018 midterm election. Tester is facing a tough reelection battle, as a popular incumbent Democratic US senator vying for a fourth term in a state that Trump won by more than 16 points in 2020. And as NBC News reported in February, Rosendale's entry into Montana's Republican US Senate primary ruffled the feathers of multiple Trump associates.

"Obviously there’s this bloodbath that’s about to play out," an unnamed Trump strategist told NBC. "But I think the undercurrent is that Rosendale has a clear Trump world problem that may reach to the highest level of Trump world as he enters this race."

Rosendale is merely the latest of many House Republicans to announce his exit from the House in 2024. In addition to the Montana lawmaker, more than a dozen other members of the Republican conference have announced their decision to not run for another term in the House of Representatives. This includes lawmakers from safe Republican seats like Rep. Greg Pence (R-Indiana) and high-ranking committee chairs like Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington), who leads the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Republicans have just a two-seat advantage over Democrats in the House, when assuming full attendance. Under House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) leadership, 15 Republicans have announced their retirement from public office when including Rosendale. To compare, only 11 Democrats have announced their retirement in 2024.

Johnson could be stripped of the gavel in the 2024 election if Democrats manage to flip just two more seats, which may happen in New York, where several freshman GOP lawmakers are facing tough reelection battles in districts whose boundaries are currently being redrawn by the Empire State's redistricting commission. Johnson's latest loss came in New York's 3rd Congressional District, where Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-New York) defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in a special election last month.

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