Rob Quist ran an impressive grassroots campaign in a tough state. He stayed true to himself and stood up for working families.
- It’s been more than 20 years since a Democrat won in the deep-red District of Montana (the entire state makes up one Congressional District). Trump won Montana by 20 points.
- Quist’s Republican challenger, Greg Gianforte, committed an assault on a reporter the night before the election, but 62% of voters had voted early. Still, he won by only 6%. Democrats can win that seat in 2018.
- Quist was outspent exponentially as Republicans poured money into a state. (See the chart.) The fact that it took so much money and significant effort from top Republicans including President Trump, Vice President Pence, Senator Rubio, Speaker Ryan, and others to win by just 6 percent is remarkable.
- As President Trump and Republicans across the nation push budgets and policies that help the rich get richer at the expense of the rest of America, Democrats are focused on lifting people up and on the issues that matter to working families.
We will continue to talk to every voter, we will continue to organize from the ground up, and we will continue to turn this moment into a movement – and this movement into votes. Just this week, two Democratic women won upset victories in down-ballot races where Trump won by a large margin, and we held onto a key Democratic seat in New York.
Republicans will nearly always be able to outspend Democrats, but Democrats have the values to get the votes.
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