Democrat Jack Ballard drops out of Montana US House race

by Associated Press
| February 25, 2022 12:00 AM

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Red Lodge author Jack Ballard dropped out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. House seat representing eastern Montana, he said Thursday.

"To be bluntly honest, we've failed to raise the financial resources necessary to realistically keep paying campaign staff and fund travel, advertising, materials and other basic expenses through the primary," Ballard said in a statement.

Ballard finished 2021 with less than $17,000 in his campaign account, The Billings Gazette reported.

Montana's at-large U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican, is a candidate for the new eastern Montana seat. Montana gained a second seat in the U.S. House following the 2020 Census.

The Democratic candidates in the eastern Montana primary are: Penny Ronning, a former member of the Billings City Council who works to combat human trafficking; Mark Sweeney, a state legislator from Philipsburg; and Skylar Williams of Billings.