SHOWDOWN

Who Won the Montana Special Election? Watch Live Results Here

Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist square off in a contentious special election—one that included the GOP candidate attacking a reporter on the eve of the vote.

The race to fill Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s now-vacant congressional seat concludes Thursday, May 25 with a special election in Montana.

The two main candidates are the Democratic nominee Rob Quist—a musician and activist—and the Republican selection Greg Gianforte, who faces new legal issues stemming from a violent incident on the eve of the vote.

While Gianforte awaited a Fox News interview, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on Wednesday evening attempted to ask the GOP candidate about the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the latest Republican health-care bill.

Gianforte angrily responded, grabbing Jacobs by the neck with both hands—according to a Fox News reporter who witnessed the incident—and body-slamming him to the ground before allegedly punching him and yelling at him. Jacobs pressed charges and Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault shortly before the polls opened statewide.

A substantial portion of the votes were submitted via absentee ballots before the actual election day, but at least three newspapers withdrew their endorsement of Gianforte in light of his actions. Polls close at 8 p.m. local time and results could continue to stream in as voters are allowed to go to the polls so long as they are in line by closing.

Check out the live election results below, provided by DecisionDesk HQ:

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