Downing Seems Headed To Reelection In Eastern District

For a campaign not likely to be that competitive, voters have a wide array of choices in this year’s race for Montana’s 2nd Congressional District.

Incumbent Republican Troy Downing faces Democratic nominee Brian Miller and Libertarian Patrick McCracken as well as an independent candidate, Michael Eisenhauer, who was endorsed by former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Downing, the former state auditor, is seeking a second term after first being elected to Congress in 2024 and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump in a post to Truth Social in June.

During his first term, Downing has focused much of his legislative work on financial policy, natural resources and issues affecting Montana. He serves on the House Financial Services and Natural Resources committees. His sponsored legislation has addressed Native American housing and water rights, rural water infrastructure, energy and public lands.

Several of Downing’s bills have focused on water projects in Montana. He sponsored legislation concerning the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System and the Dry-Redwater Regional Water System, which would provide or expand access to water infrastructure in rural communities.

His campaign declined to answer questions directly about his priorities or issues he would work on if reelected.

Downing’s voting record has largely followed the Republican position on several high-profile issues. He voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill, as well as legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. He has supported military action in Iran. He also supported measures directing the Department of Homeland Security to detain certain undocumented immigrants arrested for theft and making a DUI conviction grounds for denying entry or deporting undocumented immigrants. Downing also voted for legislation that would prohibit schools from allowing transgender girls to participate in girls sports.

His conservative record and alignment with President Trump’s agenda appear to be playing well with voters in the sprawling eastern district that runs from Helena to the North Dakota border. A recent Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll found that 43 percent of registered voters in the district approved of Downing’s job performance, while 36% disapproved and 21 percent were unsure. “Downing is a shoo-in to win,” Montana State University political science professor Jessi Bennion said.

Democrat Brian Miller, a civil rights attorney from Helena, is not ready to give Downing a second term so easily.

“A lot of bad things are going on right now that are caused by Trump and Downing supporting Trump,” Miller said. “So, if things get bad enough, I think it’s possible that I would win.”

Miller said Downing’s support for the war in Iran and tariffs is contributing to higher costs. “You got to get out of the Iran war because that’s making everything more expensive right now,” he said. He also supports ending tariffs.

Housing affordability is another focus of Miller’s campaign. He said mobile home residents need greater protections as more parks are purchased by multistate conglomerates and hedge funds.

Miller also opposes the development of data centers in Montana, saying he is the toughest against data centers of all the 2nd District candidates. That has emerged as a major campaign issue throughout the country, and Miller pointed out that the severe drought status in much of the district highlighted the need to curtail data center development.

On health care, Miller said he supports a system focused on controlling costs rather than generating profits. He also said states should have control over health care programs and that people should not be denied coverage because of preexisting conditions or face medical debt. But in making arguments about the medical system, Miller and Downing both have to compete with someone who has spent their adult life in it – independent Dr. Mike Eisenhauer. Eisenhauer spent 24 years in the Army and has spent the last 11 years working as a cardiologist in Great Falls.

He is banking on voter frustration with both parties in his run and, according to political scientist Bennion, may benefit from the nearly 40 percent of Montanans who consider themselves independent.

For Eisenhauer, one of the major criticisms of Downing is his support for the One Big Beautiful Bill and what it did to Medicaid.

“As a physician, I knew immediately what that would do to rural health care in Montana,” he said, arguing that losing local hospitals jeopardizes community stability, employment and the survival of farming families. He thinks that Downing has not been communicating with voters and is vulnerable due to low approval ratings.

Eisenhauer said he is a supporter of the Second Amendment and a gun owner, but a recent shooting in Billings and Montana’s stubbornly high suicide rate have pushed him to back a 72-hour wait. “We know that there are some people that go out and buy a handgun and within 12 hours commit suicide,” he said, saying a three-day waiting period could provide a cooling- off period that could prevent tragedies among people with mental illness or those under the influence of drugs.

Patrick McCracken, the Libertarian in the race, echoes many of the concerns of his fellow challengers. The financial advisor and fourth-generation Montanan has backed Medicaid expansion to protect rural health care, expressed concern about rising electricity costs from data centers and demanded mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef.

All three still face a daunting challenge to unseat a Republican incumbent in a district President Trump won by nearly 30 percentage points two years ago.