(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Opponents in 2022 District Two congressional race endorse Kyle Austin 2024 – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- July'] Date: 2022-07-15 Incumbent U.S. House Rep. Matt Rosendale won in a landslide in last month’s GOP primary, but previous competitors already are rallying behind one primary opponent for a 2024 run. The week after Kyle Austin lost, he announced he’d be throwing his hat in the ring once more, and he secured endorsements from former opponents Charles Walking Child and James Boyette. “From the beaches of O’ahu, in the midst of historic Pearl Harbor, I am pleased to announce my candidacy in 2024,” Austin said in a June press release. Austin said he is still weighing what office to run for, with openings for U.S. House, Senate and the Governor’s Office on the ballot next cycle. However, he already has plans to bolster his campaign strategies. And even if it’s not the U.S. House he’ll seek, he and at least one of his previous competitors have choice comments about the Republican who bested them. In last month’s primary, Rosendale swept the competition in the eastern district, taking home 75% of the vote. Austin earned 12% of the vote, trailing behind Rosendale but still coming in second. Walking Child and Boyette came in third and fourth place, respectively, both earning 6% of the vote. Austin said the three became friends on the campaign trail and still keep in touch. For Walking Child, the decision to endorse Austin came down to Austin’s roots in Montana. He called Austin an “original Montanan.” “He’s been here for generations,” Walking Child said. “He sees the needs of the Montana people.” Austin was born in Havre and grew up raising livestock on his grandfather’s farm. Walking Child said he couldn’t understand why people would vote for Rosendale. Austin said that Walking Child, Boyette and himself share the same agenda, one that differs, he said, from the goals of the Maryland- born incumbent. “Rosendale, obviously not being born and raised in Montana, a lot of his agenda is very right wing where he just says ‘no’ to everything,” Austin said. “And you can’t say no to everything to have progress.” “If we say no to everything, I tell you what, we’re going to be extinct like the dinosaurs,” Austin said. “Our politics have to change just like business owners make decisions daily on how to change their business and their operation. So we need someone that actually evaluates everything and makes a yes or no decision on what’s best for Montana.” Walking Child said he doesn’t like seeing national parties “sticking their nose” into Montana and that Montanans aren’t educated on the parties and just pick a side. “It’s like joining the Bloods or Crips, which ones you’re gonna join,” he said. Austin announced his candidacy for 2024 nine days after election night, a decision he said was in part to help assemble a campaign team with a manager and treasurer, something he didn’t have in his first run. “Rosendale’s an incumbent and had a lot of money in the hat, and so he won the election,” he said. “I just was out there, putting my name on the ballot for what I’ve done for the communities and showed that double digit return on the ballot. The decision was, keep the momentum going and run again in 2024.” Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Austin said he would be running on a similar platform as he did in 2022, especially surrounding expanding access to healthcare and supporting the agriculture communities in the state. Although he’s drawn their ire well in advance of 2024, Rosendale will face two challengers in the 2022 general election this November, Penny Ronning the Democrat and independent Gary Buchanan. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/07/15/opponents-in-2022-district-two-congressional-race-endorse-kyle-austin-2024/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/