Republican Greg Gianforte overcame an election-eve assault charge and defeated Democrat Rob Quist in a special election for Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Gianforte might have won the race before Election Day because two-thirds of Montana voters cast ballots by mail before he was charged in the choking and “body slam” of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. Gianforte will take the House seat vacated by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. During the campaign, Gianforte embraced Trump and continued to do so after the election was called for him. A question from The Guardian’s Jacobs to Gianforte about the CBO’s “score” of the AHCA ultimately led to the assault, witnesses said.

Source: Forbes May 26, 2017 04:41 UTC