28 November 2022 — 1055 mst

GOP State Rep. Mallerie Stromswold
and Americans for Prosperity

By James Conner

Stromswold

Republican State Representative Mallerie Stromswold (HD-50, Billngs), at 21 the Montana Legislature’s youngest member, tried to resign her candidacy for re-election back in August — but, according to the Montana Free Press, botched the process by failing to submit her letter of resignation directly to Montana’s secretary of state by 15 August. Instead, she gave the letter to the local Republican central committee, which failed to file the letter on time. Left on the ballot, she won by 103 votes.

There’s more, so be sure to read the MTFP report. It’s a fascinating story that reflects well on no one. It also omits mention of the strange involvement of Americans for Prosperity, a Koch financed political action committee, in Stromswold’s primary election campaign.

Why strange? Because Stromswold had no primary opponent. She needed no help. Yet AFP reports spending more than $6,000 supporting her. Why?

First, who AFP promoted during the primary. Then, a breakdown of AFP’s expenditures.

Download the tables above as an Excel spreadsheet.

As far as I can determine, AFP did not make expenditures on Stromswold’s behalf after the primary, when she had a strong Democratic opponent.

Draw your own conclusions.