BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Latest on a Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate in Montana saying he supports Republican Matt Rosendale (all times local):
3:55 p.m.
The chairman of the Montana Libertarians is disavowing comments from the party's U.S. Senate candidate that support Republican Matt Rosendale.
Francis Wendt says the Libertarian Party doesn't support Rosendale because he's from another party and lacks a strong enough stance on privacy issues.
Libertarian Senate candidate Rick Breckenridge announced his support for Rosendale earlier Wednesday.
Breckenridge says it's in response to a mailer sent by an unknown group that appeared aimed at undermining Rosendale's support among conservatives.
Rosendale is in a tight race against two-term Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
The mailer is reminiscent of tactics used by Democratic-friendly groups in Tester's 2012 race to promote the Libertarian candidate and peel away Republican voters.
Wendt says that if Libertarians lose votes because of Breckenridge's support of Rosendale it could make it harder for the party to qualify for future ballots.
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This item has been corrected to show Francis Wendt's first name was misspelled.
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12 p.m.
The Libertarian candidate in Montana's U.S. Senate race has thrown his support behind Republican Matt Rosendale in response to an election mailer from an unknown group that appears aimed at undermining Rosendale's support among conservatives.
Rick Breckenridge said Wednesday that he doesn't know the source of the mailer promoting him as a "true conservative" and claiming Rosendale supports using drones to spy on private citizens.
Breckenridge says it's an attempt by so-called dark money groups to influence Montana's election and he's decided that Rosendale is the best candidate to stop such efforts.
Rosendale is in a tight race against two-term Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
The mailer is reminiscent of tactics used by Democratic-friendly groups in Tester's 2012 race to promote the Libertarian candidate and peel away Republican voters.
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This version of the story corrects the spelling of Francis Wendt's first name.
