Rob Quist attracted the enthusiastic backing of progressive activists because of his unabashed liberal stances.
But the Democrats virtually ignored Quist until late April. “It seems clear that Gianforte’s massive edge in early funding allowed him to attack Quist’s character viciously before there were sufficient funds for Quist to respond to the vitriol,” Jeff Hauser, a longtime Democratic operative and director of the Revolving Door Project, told HuffPost. “If Quist should lose, the national Democrats who provided financial assistance after mail-in voting had already begun will have to question anew their initial reluctance to engage in the race in March and early April.”
Quist’s loss comes on the heels of similar disappointments for the party. Earlier this month, Democrat Heath Mello failed to unseat Republican Mayor Jean Stothert in Omaha, Nebraska. In April, left-leaning progressive Democrat James Thompson lost an unexpectedly close race for an open House seat in deep-red Kansas.
The DCCC’s national mobilization chair in 2016, Rep. Jim Clyburn, was completely unaware of the special election in Montana.
The Democratic Party is not interested in backing progressive candidates
The Democratic Party consistently withholds support from progressives like Donna Edwards, James Thompson, Heath Mello and Rob Quist. Then, after these candidates lose very close elections where financial backing earlier in the race would have helped, the DNC claims they weren’t viable.
This lack of support stems from the DCCC’s strategy to abandon rural America and their disdain for candidates who embrace Sen. Bernie Sanders’ progressive agenda.
A promised 50 state strategy where the DNC fights “in every zip code” was lip service, and the New Democrats are clearly only interested in backing centrist neoliberals, even if that means allowing Republican opponents to win.