ICYMI overnight, Republican candidate for Montana’s at-large congressional seat Greg Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault after he allegedly “body slammed” Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event. With the polls in today’s special election about to open in Montana, here’s what voters are waking up to this morning:
Sub-optimal election day headline here pic.twitter.com/rYPuGL2xnI
— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) May 25, 2017
Oof.
If convicted, Gianforte reportedly could face up to 6 months in jail:
If convicted, Gianforte faces a maximum of 6 months jail and a $500 fine. #mtal #bdcnews
— Whitney Bermes (@wabermes) May 25, 2017
In the wake of Gianforte’s outburst, which was recorded and witnessed by a Fox News crew, 3 Montana papers pulled their endorsement of the Republican candidate.
The Helena Independent Record:
Another one bites the dust – #Montana's capital city paper rescinds endorsement of Gianforte: https://t.co/XK4AZgz88W #mtal
— Whitney Bermes (@wabermes) May 25, 2017
The Missoulian:
Missoulian rescinds Gianforte endorsement https://t.co/QMEWH67aJE via @missoulian
— Missoulian (@missoulian) May 25, 2017
And the Billings Gazette:
Gazette opinion: We're pulling our endorsement of Gianforte #mtpol #mtal #montana https://t.co/amLeMrFwJj pic.twitter.com/kJy2BCg2eO
— Billings Gazette (@billingsgazette) May 25, 2017
Just yesterday, Gianforte tweeted how honored he was to receive these endorsements. Oops:
What an incredible honor to be endorsed by three of MT’s biggest
newspapers. Thank you @missoulian @billingsgazette @helenaironline pic.twitter.com/iW5UEORGgm— Greg Gianforte (@GregForMontana) May 24, 2017
But as bad as this news is for the Republican, an estimated 65% of the vote is already in thanks to early and absentee voting:
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 25, 2017
Polls close at 10 p.m. EDT:
Tomorrow night, 10pm EDT: results & live blog for #MTAL at https://t.co/VupeaQnXFi AND live video analysis by @B_M_Finnigan on @BuzzFeedNews
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 25, 2017
***
Related:
Fox News reporter gives eyewitness account of Gianforte body slam; Libertarians see an opening https://t.co/1rqwh1kebZ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 25, 2017
‘WTF?’ Guardian journo says Mont. House candidate Greg Gianforte ‘just body slammed’ him https://t.co/qLrfezyIOY
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 24, 2017
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