HELENA – Republican Greg Gianforte’s campaign for governor has fired its political director, who is under investigation by police after he was accused of causing damage to another person’s car last week.
Daniel Duffey was fired after the campaign found out about the alleged incident, campaign spokesperson Travis Hall said Monday night.
Duffey is accused of using his own car door to strike the side of another car multiple times while the two vehicles were parked outside a restaurant in Bozeman on Oct. 26, according to a report produced by the Bozeman Police Department after the incident.
No charges had been filed against Duffey as of Monday. The case was still under investigation, said Bozeman Police Sgt. Travis Munter.
Duffey did not return a call requesting comment on Monday.
The owner of the car that was allegedly hit, Jennifer Klingaman, said the damages were estimated at $1,600. She said an officer investigating the incident told her that surveillance footage captured Duffey slamming his car door into her car before keying her car. Klingaman said she has never met Duffey.
Gianforte, who currently serves as Montana’s lone representative in the U.S. House, is facing Democratic Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in Tuesday’s election. Current Gov. Steve Bullock is termed out and running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.