Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) said on Friday that he will not be seeking re-election for office because of unproven allegations that he said have taken a toll on him and his family.
Rosendale’s remarks appear to be in reference to former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) claiming last month that there were rumors that Rosendale impregnated a 20-year-old staffer who worked for him.
The 63-year-old congressman’s office strongly pushed back on Heitkamp’s remarks, calling them “100% false and defamatory” and saying that she would be hearing from their attorneys soon.
Rosendale’s decision to not seek re-election comes after he ended his bid for U.S. Senate just days after entering the race following former President Donald Trump’s decision to endorse his opponent in the primary.
“At the onset of this election season, at the urging of many, I announced my candidacy for the U.S. Senate,” he said. “It became very obvious soon after that announcement that the national support and resources necessary to win that seat were not going to be available to me. I withdrew as soon as possible so as not to jeopardize the opportunity for Republicans to secure that seat and, with it, the majority in the U.S. Senate, which is critical for our country.”
Rosendale said that Congress was “severely broken and badly in need of reforms” and that those who want to force change “are subject to severe retribution.”
“Upon withdrawing from that race, and again at the urging of many, including several of the current candidates, I filed to run for reelection to my current seat,” he said. “Since that announcement, I have been forced to have law enforcement visit my children because of a death threat against me and false and defamatory rumors against me and my family. This has taken a serious toll on me, and my family. Additionally, it has caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02.”
He said that the attacks have made it “impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you”, thus leading him to withdraw from the U.S. House race.
“It has been my honor to serve you and may God bless each and every one of you,” he concluded.