MONTANA – In a surprising development, the Associated Press (AP) has retracted its call for a winner in the Montana State House District 57 general election.
As of 1:00 p.m. today, Democrat Scott Rosenzweig leads Republican Marty Malone by just 20 votes. This narrow margin represents only 0.26 percentage points out of more than 7,500 votes counted.
Initially, the AP declared Malone the winner last Wednesday morning. However, this was based on an incorrect estimate of the remaining votes. The AP now plans to wait until results are certified and any potential recount is completed before calling a winner.
Scott Rosenzweig, the representative-elect, shared his thoughts on the campaign. “Throughout the campaign I heard from voters across my vast and diverse district with the same worries and concerns: how they were going to afford housing, access to quality health and mental health care, and making sure we provide our children the best possible education. I am ready to get to work for all the people of Park and Gallatin counties, including those who voted for me, voted against me, and didn’t vote,” he said.
The AP explained its track record, stating, “In the past several general elections, AP’s accuracy rate has exceeded 99.9%. In the 2024 primaries, AP declared winners in more than 2,500 contested elections. We made two incorrect race calls, both in races for state legislature. One of the two was due to incorrect results reported by election officials, which historically is the primary reason for race call errors.”
