Montana: Baucus Gets Second GOP Challenger Thursday

Baucus will acquire his second Republican challenger this week. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Baucus will acquire his second Republican challenger this week. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Posted February 27, 2013 at 1:07pm

A second Republican challenger to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., will officially announce his candidacy Thursday.

State Rep. Champ Edmunds will formally enter the race to challenge the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee at a press conference at Bitterroot Motors in Missoula at 2:30 p.m. ET, according to a release.

Edmunds, a Missoula banker and former Navy submariner, joins former state Sen. Corey Stapleton in what’s expected to be a crowded GOP primary for the chance to take on Baucus, who is seeking a seventh term.

These candidates are hoping to outperform former Rep. Denny Rehberg, the Republican who lost last year to Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., even though the state handed President Barack Obama a double-digit loss.

CQ Roll Call rates the race Leans Democratic.