Matt Rosendale

Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American politician.

A Republican, Rosendale represents Montana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.

Rosendale was born on July 7, 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland.

He graduated from Queen Anne's County High School in Centreville, Maryland, in 1978.

Rosendale attended Chesapeake College in Maryland but did not graduate.

Rosendale worked in Maryland in the fields of real estate development and land management before moving with his family to Glendive, Montana in 2002.

In Montana, he was twice elected chairman of the Glendive Agri-Trade Expo committee, a local group that puts on an agriculture exposition showcasing agri-business in eastern Montana.

Rosendale served one two-year term in the Montana House of Representatives.

Rosendale announced he would run for the Montana House of Representatives to represent House District 38, which covers Wibaux and part of Dawson County.

Also seeking the Republican nomination were Edward Hilbert and Alan Doane.

Rosendale prevailed, receiving 48.4% of the vote to Doane's 41.3% and Hilbert's 10.4%.

Rosendale defeated Democratic incumbent State Representative Dennis Getz in the general election, with 52.7% of the vote to Getz's 47.3%.

Rosendale served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and in the Montana Senate from 2013 to 2017.

During the 2011 legislative session, Rosendale served on several committees, including the Business and Labor Committee, the Transportation Committee, and the Local Government Committee.

In 2012, with state senator Donald Steinbeisser ineligible for reelection due to term limits, Rosendale announced he would run for the Montana Senate to represent Senate District 19, a heavily Republican district in eastern Montana.

After running unopposed in the Republican primary, Rosendale defeated Democratic nominee Fred Lake in the general election, with 67.6% of the vote to Lake's 32.4%.

Rosendale served one four-year term in the Montana Senate from 2013 to 2017.

During the 2013 legislative session, Rosendale served as vice chair of the Natural Resources and Transportation Committee.

He also served on the Finance and Claims Committee, the Highways and Transportation Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

During this legislative session, Rosendale was the primary sponsor of a resolution urging Congress to submit a balanced budget amendment to states.

He also was the primary sponsor of a bill that became law to prevent law enforcement from using drones for surveillance purposes.

Rosendale ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and for the U.S. Senate in 2018.

Due to state redistricting in 2014, Rosendale represented Senate District 18 for the rest of his tenure, starting in 2015.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as Senate majority leader.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as majority leader.

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Rosendale's colleagues in the State Senate elected him to serve as majority leader.

He also chaired the Rules Committee and was a member of the Finance and Claims Committee and Natural Resources and Transportation Committee.

Rosendale was the primary sponsor of a bill to authorize direct primary care provider plans that passed the legislature before being vetoed by Governor Steve Bullock.

Rosendale was elected Montana state auditor in 2016 and held that position from 2017 to 2020.

Rosendale ran for Montana State Auditor in 2016, when incumbent Monica Lindeen was ineligible for reelection due to term limits.

Rosendale ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

In the general election, he faced Jesse Laslovich, who was Lindeen's chief legal counsel and widely considered one of Montana's rising political stars.

Rosendale defeated Laslovich with 53.6% of the vote to Laslovich's 46.4%.

At the time, this was the most expensive state auditor's race in Montana state history.

Rosendale served as Montana state auditor from 2017 to 2020.

He was elected to represent Montana's at-large congressional district in 2020.

After Montana regained its second House seat in the 2020 census, Rosendale was elected to represent the new 2nd congressional district in 2022.

On February 9, 2024, he announced his candidacy for 2024 United States Senate election in Montana, looking to challenge Jon Tester again.

Less than a week later, on February 15, 2024, Rosendale ended his campaign after Donald Trump endorsed his opponent Tim Sheehy in the Republican primary.

Rosendale chose to run for reelection to his House seat, but withdrew from that race as well in March 2024.