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Outside Money Dries Up in Montana Senate Race

Less than $900,000 in outside money has been spent in the state's top race

By Matt Volz, Associated Press

HELENA – Campaign ads paid for by outside interest groups usually reach their peak the week before a U.S. Senate election, but they’ve all but dried up in Montana’s top race this year between Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Amanda Curtis.

A Federal Election Commission database of independent expenditures shows that less than $900,000 in outside money has been spent in the state’s top race in direct support or opposition of candidates. Of that amount, only $139,000 has been spent in the race since Curtis became the Democratic nominee in August.

By comparison, $26.5 million in outside money was spent in the 2012 Senate race between U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, according to the FEC data. That much and more has been spent by outside groups this year in the nation’s top Senate races in Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.

Montana State University political scientist David Parker said Montana’s numbers show that national groups don’t see Curtis as a viable challenger to Daines.

“The race — from the position of national donors and national organizations — is not competitive,” Parker said. “If this were a competitive Senate race, we’d see a lot more action.”

Montana’s election was once seen as a top-tier national race that could help decide which party controls the Senate. Daines was considered to have the edge against then-Democratic nominee John Walsh, who was appointed to retired U.S. Sen. Max Baucus’ seat in February.

But Walsh dropped out in August after reports that he plagiarized a research paper at the U.S. Army War College in 2007 became too much of a distraction. A special Democratic nominating commission selected Curtis, a math teacher and state legislator from Butte, as his replacement.

Curtis has had less than three months to build a campaign and introduce herself to voters.

“It was always going to be hard for Democrats as soon as Max Baucus retired. Putting a candidate in at the last minute doesn’t help,” Parker said.

Groups that supported Tester’s re-election with independent spending in 2012 are notably absent this year, including political party organizations such as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Curtis spokesman Les Braswell said that lack of national party support doesn’t hurt Curtis, noting the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was absent when Tester defeated U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns in 2006.

“Traveling across the state, Amanda has received the kinds of grassroots support that millions of dollars in outside spending can’t buy. Amanda has not received third party support in this race, and she agrees with the 75% of Montana voters who know that money isn’t speech,” Braswell said.

The group that has remained most active in the Senate race since Curtis was nominated has been the National Rifle Association, which has spent more than $77,000 opposing her.

A pro-Curtis political-action committee called Workers’ Voice has spent $15,000 in the last week on online ads in support of Curtis.