Matt Rosendale

Matt Rosendale
Born	Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. 7 7, 1960
Birthplace	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, real estate developer
Known for	U.S. Representative from Montana (2021–2025), Montana State Auditor (2017–2021)
Education	Chesapeake College (attended)
Children	3

Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American politician and former real estate developer who served as the U.S. Representative from Montana from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Rosendale's political career in Montana spanned more than a decade, beginning with his election to the Montana House of Representatives in 2010 and encompassing service in the Montana Senate, a term as Montana State Auditor, and two terms in the U.S. Congress. Born and raised in Maryland, Rosendale relocated to Montana in the 1990s, where he established himself as a rancher and real estate developer before entering public life. His congressional tenure was marked by his alignment with the conservative Freedom Caucus and a willingness to break with Republican leadership on key votes. Rosendale's political trajectory included an unsuccessful 2018 bid for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Jon Tester and a brief 2024 Senate campaign that lasted only six days before he withdrew. He subsequently dropped his bid for re-election to the House in March 2024, citing defamatory rumors and a death threat, bringing his time in elected office to a close at the end of the 118th Congress in January 2025.

Early Life

Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. was born on July 7, 1960, in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in Maryland, where he was involved in land development and real estate. Rosendale attended Chesapeake College, a community college on Maryland's Eastern Shore, though he did not complete a degree.

In the early 2000s, Rosendale relocated to Montana, settling in the eastern part of the state near Glendive. He established himself as a rancher and continued his work in real estate development. The move to Montana placed Rosendale in a politically conservative region of the state, and he became involved in local Republican politics. His background in real estate and ranching would become central to his political identity, as he frequently emphasized his experience as a businessman and property owner during subsequent campaigns.

Rosendale's origins in Maryland became a recurring point of contention in his Montana political campaigns, with opponents occasionally characterizing him as an outsider. Despite this criticism, Rosendale built a political base in eastern Montana and became a fixture in the state's Republican politics over the following two decades.

Education

Rosendale attended Chesapeake College, a community college located in Wye Mills, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He did not earn a degree from the institution. No additional formal educational credentials have been publicly documented.

Career

Montana State Legislature

Rosendale entered elected office in 2010 when he won a seat in the Montana House of Representatives, representing the 38th district. He served in the Montana House from January 3, 2011, to January 7, 2013, succeeding Dennis Getz.

In 2012, Rosendale ran for the Montana Senate, winning election to represent the 18th district. He succeeded John Brenden in the state senate and served from January 7, 2013, to January 2, 2017. During his time in the Montana Senate, Rosendale rose to a leadership position, serving as Senate majority leader from 2015 to 2017. In this role, he was instrumental in advancing conservative legislative priorities in the state legislature.

Among the legislation Rosendale championed in the Montana Senate was a direct primary care bill, which would have allowed patients to enter into direct payment arrangements with physicians outside of traditional insurance structures. The bill was vetoed twice by Governor Steve Bullock, but Rosendale continued to advance the concept, which he later promoted as state auditor.

2014 Congressional Campaign

In 2014, Rosendale made his first bid for federal office, running for Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was unsuccessful in this effort, losing in the Republican primary. The experience, however, raised his statewide profile and set the stage for future campaigns.

Montana State Auditor (2017–2021)

In 2016, following the decision of incumbent State Auditor Monica Lindeen not to seek re-election, Rosendale entered the race for Montana State Auditor, the state official responsible for overseeing the insurance and securities industries in Montana.

Rosendale won the Republican primary and went on to defeat his Democratic opponent in the general election. Polling during the campaign had shown Rosendale holding a significant lead, with one survey indicating a 10-point advantage over his Democratic rival Jesse Laslovich, though approximately 24 percent of voters remained undecided at the time.

As state auditor, Rosendale served under Democratic Governor Steve Bullock from January 2, 2017, to January 3, 2021. In his capacity as the state's chief insurance regulator, Rosendale was responsible for the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance office. He continued to promote direct primary care arrangements and pursued a conservative approach to insurance regulation.

2018 U.S. Senate Campaign

While serving as state auditor, Rosendale launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2018, challenging incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Tester. The race became one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country, attracting national attention and significant outside spending.

Rosendale sought to align himself closely with President Donald Trump, who campaigned on his behalf in Montana. Trump held a rally in Great Falls in July 2018, where Rosendale appeared as a featured guest and emphasized his support for the president's agenda. Despite Trump's endorsement and the president's popularity in Montana, Rosendale lost the general election to Tester. The defeat was a notable result in a state that Trump had carried by more than 20 points in the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. House of Representatives (2021–2025)

Following his 2018 Senate loss, Rosendale announced in 2019 that he would run for Montana's at-large congressional seat in the 2020 election, after incumbent Representative Greg Gianforte decided to run for governor. Rosendale won the Republican primary and prevailed in the general election, taking office on January 3, 2021, as Montana's sole representative in the U.S. House.

After the 2020 census, Montana regained a second congressional seat for the first time since 1993. Under the new redistricting plan, Rosendale ran for the newly created 2nd congressional district, which encompassed the eastern and central portions of the state. He won the 2022 election and continued to represent the district in the 118th Congress.

During his time in Congress, Rosendale aligned himself with the conservative Freedom Caucus and was known for taking positions that sometimes placed him at odds with Republican leadership. He was one of the members who voted against Kevin McCarthy's bid for Speaker of the House in January 2023. His legislative work included attention to veterans' issues; he served as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, where he conducted oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic health record modernization project.

Rosendale also expressed support for the PACT Act, legislation expanding healthcare benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances including burn pits during military service.

The Montana Free Press characterized Rosendale's congressional tenure as one defined by "principle over practicality," noting that his willingness to oppose Republican leadership contributed to both his reputation among conservative voters and the friction that sometimes surrounded his political activities.

2024 Senate Bid and Withdrawal

On February 9, 2024, Rosendale officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, seeking to challenge incumbent Democrat Jon Tester for a second time. The announcement came after months of speculation about whether Rosendale would enter the race.

However, the campaign was short-lived. Only six days after his announcement, on February 15, 2024, Rosendale dropped out of the Senate race. The withdrawal came after former President Donald Trump endorsed Tim Sheehy, a political newcomer and former Navy SEAL, in the Republican primary. Trump's endorsement of Sheehy effectively undercut Rosendale's candidacy, as Rosendale had built much of his political brand on his alignment with the former president.

Withdrawal from House Re-election

After ending his Senate campaign, Rosendale initially indicated he would seek re-election to his House seat in Montana's 2nd congressional district. However, on March 8, 2024, he announced that he was withdrawing from the House race as well. In a statement, Rosendale cited defamatory rumors circulated against him and a death threat as his reasons for leaving the race.

The dual withdrawal marked the end of Rosendale's career in elected office. He served out the remainder of his term in the 118th Congress, which concluded on January 3, 2025. He was succeeded in Montana's 2nd congressional district by Troy Downing, who had previously succeeded Rosendale as state auditor.

Personal Life

Rosendale resides in eastern Montana, where he has been involved in ranching and real estate. He has three children, including a son named Adam. After leaving Congress, Rosendale has remained involved in Montana politics. In September 2025, he endorsed Sid Daoud in the Kalispell mayoral race, indicating his continued engagement in local political affairs despite his departure from elected office.

Rosendale's Maryland origins were a recurring topic in his Montana campaigns, with political opponents periodically raising his East Coast background. Rosendale countered such characterizations by emphasizing his decades of residency in Montana and his involvement in the state's agricultural economy.

Recognition

Rosendale's political career in Montana was notable for the breadth of offices he held across state and federal government. Over the course of approximately 14 years in public life, he served in both chambers of the Montana state legislature, as a statewide constitutional officer, and in the U.S. House of Representatives. His rise to Senate majority leader in the Montana legislature demonstrated his influence within the state Republican Party during the mid-2010s.

During his time in Congress, Rosendale's chairmanship of the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization gave him a platform to conduct oversight of major federal technology programs, including the VA's troubled electronic health record modernization effort.

His 2018 Senate race against Jon Tester attracted national media attention and significant campaign spending, making it one of the higher-profile Senate contests of that election cycle. The race was seen as a test of whether Trump's popularity in Montana could be transferred to a down-ballot candidate.

Legacy

The Montana Free Press, in a retrospective published as Rosendale's congressional term drew to a close, described his legacy as one defined by a commitment to conservative principle, sometimes at the expense of legislative pragmatism. The publication noted that Rosendale's willingness to oppose Republican leadership and to take uncompromising positions contributed both to his appeal among the party's conservative base and to the political turbulence that characterized his later career.

Rosendale's career arc—from the Montana state legislature to statewide office to Congress—illustrated the political dynamics of Montana's Republican Party during a period of significant national polarization. His close alignment with Donald Trump proved to be both an asset and a vulnerability: it helped propel his 2020 congressional victory but could not overcome the former president's decision to endorse a rival in the 2024 Senate primary. The speed of his withdrawal from the 2024 Senate race—just six days after launching his campaign—underscored the decisive role that Trump's endorsement had come to play in Republican primary contests.

Rosendale's departure from Congress in January 2025, without seeking further office, marked the conclusion of a political career that saw him hold more distinct elected positions than most Montana politicians of his generation. His successor in both the state auditor's office and in Congress, Troy Downing, continued in the Republican tradition that Rosendale had represented in eastern Montana.