Downing cruises to reelection in Montana’s eastern Congressional district

U.S. Representative Troy Downing cruised to victory on Tuesday night in a race to retain his seat, and the Republican will be elected to his second term in Congress.

“Congressman Troy Downing is grateful to the people of Montana’s Second Congressional District for placing their trust in him for another term,” Keegan Bittner, a Downing spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Tonight’s victory reflects the hard work of our team and the support of Montanans across the district.”

The Associated Press called the race at 9:18 p.m. Downing led from the start and was heavily favored to win.

Downing took 53% of the vote in early returns, well ahead of Democrat Brian Miller’s 32%, Independent Michael Eisenhauer’s 8%, and Libertarian Patrick McCracken’s 2%. There have been 184,000 ballots cast in that race.

Downing, a veteran, won by more than 30 points in the 2024 election. Prior to his terms in Congress, Downing was the state auditor.

He campaigned on lowering taxes and reducing government regulation. Downing raised about $2.7 million during the election, far more than Eisenhauer’s $348,000. Miller raised less than $50,000.

Downing was endorsed by President Donald Trump and unopposed in the Republican primary.

“The Congressman is proud of what he accomplished during his first term and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of Montana’s families and communities,” Bittner wrote. “He remains committed to delivering results and ensuring central & eastern Montana have a strong voice in Washington.”

Miller told the Daily Montanan on Tuesday night that before the race was called, he would have liked results from the largest county in the Second District, Yellowstone, which had not yet reported any numbers before The Associated Press called the race for Downing.

Eisenhauer said he called Downing about 15 minutes before the race was called to congratulate him. He said there was more work to be done for him.

“What’s next — we will be very soon announcing an intentional effort to create and then build-out an organization in support of Independent candidates in Montana across the full spectrum, Local to State to Federal,” Eisenhauer said. “I will also make every effort to provide meaningful information to the legislature about just how difficult (and costly) it is to qualify for the ballot as an independent or 3rd-party candidate. This “price of admission” is a very real barrier, that prevents many interested candidates from even trying – and it needs to change.

This story has been updated with comments from Rep. Troy Downing, Democratic candidate Brian Miller and Independent candidate Michael Eisenhauer.