Republican wins Montana election despite assault charge

Greg Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist for Montana’s at-large congressional seat Thursday night, just 24 hours after being charged with assault for allegedly attacking a reporter. The Associated Press called the race at 10:30 p.m. local time, reporting Gianforte edged out his opponent with 50 percent of the vote over the Democrat’s 44 percent. In his victory speech, Gianforte apologized. “When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. That’s the Montana way,” Gianforte said. “Last night, I made a mistake, and I took an action that I can’t take back. I’m not proud of what happened. I should not have responded in the way that I did, and for that I am sorry.” On Wednesday, Gianforte grabbed reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian and threw him to the ground, breaking his glasses, according to a Fox News crew that witnessed the incident. Jacobs reported it to the police, and local authorities cited Gianforte with a misdemeanor assault charge. Gianforte’s victory will take him to Washington, D.C., to fill the seat left vacant by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but he will have to return for a county court date before June 7.

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