HELENA — Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing has officially filed to run for a second term in the U.S. House, representing Montana’s eastern congressional district.
(Watch the video to hear from Downing as he filed for reelection.)
Downing came to the Montana State Capitol Thursday morning to fill out his paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office in person.
“We've had a lot of traction,” he said. “So now that I've established that reputation of actually showing up and doing the job, now it's just executing on the stuff that's still undone.”
Downing believes he’s been effective as a freshman legislator. He says Congress has done good work on issues like tax reform and the budget over the last year. Going forward, he says lawmakers need to put continuing effort into addressing affordability.
Midterm elections tend to be difficult for the incumbent president’s party, and Republicans already have a very narrow majority in the House – currently just four votes. However, Downing said he remains optimistic his party can “buck the trend” and hang on to control.
“There's a lot of time between now and November, and we just need to make sure that we're being responsive to our constituents,” he said.
Downing said his goal if reelected is to chair a House committee or subcommittee next term, which he said could be the start of a “path to leadership” in the chamber.
“I think that it would be meaningful for Montana to not be just sitting at the table, but actually be able to set the table,” he said. “I think that would be incredibly powerful for Montana.”
In 2024, Downing won his seat by more than 30 percentage points over his Democratic opponent. National election analysts have again projected the eastern district to be safe for Republicans this year. However, two Democratic candidates – Great Falls farrier Sam Lux and Helena attorney Brian Miller – have been campaigning against Downing and officially filed to run for the seat on Tuesday.
An independent candidate – Mike Eisenhauer, a cardiologist from Great Falls – is collecting signatures to try to qualify for the eastern district ballot. He has not yet filed with the Secretary of State.
Also on Thursday, Sam Forstag, a firefighter and union leader from Missoula, filed at the Capitol as a Democratic candidate for Montana’s western U.S. House seat. He’s the fourth Democrat to officially file to run for the seat held by Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke.
