Rob Quist, a folk singer and Bernie Sanders supporter running for Montana’s open House seat, announced Tuesday that he’d raised $1.3 million so far for his race — the latest example of liberal donors crowdfunding in the hopes of creating an upset.
“Rob wants Montanans to know who is funding his grass-roots campaign, and that’s why we’re releasing our FEC report ahead of the deadline,” Quist said spokeswoman Tina Olechowski. “We’re calling on Greg Gianforte to join us by releasing his donors to the public.”
Democrats have not won Montana’s sole House seat since 1996, and last year, then-Rep. Ryan Zinke easily won reelection while President Trump carried the state. But the state’s Democratic Party has continued to win other statewide offices, and the Montana race is seen by progressive activists as an even better target than Kansas’s Fourth District, which votes Tuesday. Montana’s election is on May 25.