Republican Greg Gianforte won Montana’s special election Thursday despite being charged with assaulting a reporter just hours before polls opened across the state.

With 84 percent of precincts reporting, Greg Gianforte led Democrat Rob Quist by more than 24,000 votes out of nearly 270,000 ballots cast.

Gianforte said in his victory speech late Thursday that his victory is a victory for all Montana. He also used the platform to apologize to the reporter he allegedly assaulted on election eve and a Fox News team that witnessed the encounter.

“When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. That’s the Montana way. Last night I made a mistake, and I took an action that I can’t take back, and I’m not proud of what happened. I should not have responded in the way that I did, and for that I’m sorry. I should not have treated that reporter that way, and for that I am sorry Mr. Ben Jacobs."

snip

Gianforte showed lukewarm support for Trump during his unsuccessful run for governor in Montana last fall but did an about-face and turned into an ebullient Trump supporter after he started campaigning for the congressional seat vacated by Republican Ryan Zinke, when he was tapped by Trump to serve as Interior Department secretary.

Gianforte urged Montana voters to send him to help Trump "drain the swamp," brought in Vice President Mike Pence and first son Donald Trump Jr. to campaign for him and was supported by millions of dollars of ads and mailers paid for by Republican groups.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/...l-election.html

The Left loses another election built up as an anti-Trump moment. Oh well! First their hopes were up in Kansas, no luck, then in Georgia hoping for Ossoff to get the knock out 50% to prevent a runoff, no luck there either, then last night in Montana, not going to happen, and now it's back to Georgia. They're talking up the June 20th special election with Republicans supposedly crossing over to support Dem Ossoff. We've heard this talk before. We'll see.

All eyes [and out of State money] are now on their last hope, Georgia and the runoff election between Karen Handel and the carpetbagger Jon Ossoff TM

Tonight's Montana Election Results: Gianforte 50.8%, Quist 43.4%

https://www.nytimes.com/elections/result...pecial-election

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/...ecial-election/

Matt Drudge Headline: Fighting for Montana

MATT DRUDGE ✔ @DRUDGE
Now put that Montana Gianforte guy alone in a room with Paul Ryan

Nu Wexler ✔ @wexler
What does it mean for the Democratic Party if they can‘t win a special election with a weak candidate in a district Trump won by 20 points?

Dem Bob Etheridge assaulting student .....the self-righteous forget so quickly