Matt Rosendale, 59, is a conservative proven leader who has dedicated his life to working for Montana. He is the son and brother of U.S. Marines.
Matt and his wife, Jean, have been living at their ranch in Glendive for nearly 20 years. They chose to make Montana home because they love and share Montana values where faith, family, and community are still important. They’ve been married for 34 years and have three sons, Matthew Jr., Brien and Adam who all graduated from Dawson County High School. Matt’s an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and every year opens up their ranch to the Glendive community so that kids, families, and veterans can hunt, camp, and recreate.
On their ranch, Matt spent many long hours working on the land and helping his neighbors’ brand and herd cattle, haul crops from the field, and rebuild fences after a prairie fire. Matt knows the value of hard-work and the importance of being there to lend a helping-hand to your neighbors. Matt was first called to public service back in 2010 when his Glendive neighbors recruited him to run for the Montana Legislature. They asked him to reduce spending and regulations, defend our gun and property rights, and always defend the sanctity of life – and that’s exactly what he did.
In 2014, Matt was elected by his Montana colleagues in the State Senate as the Majority Leader, and despite being outspent 4:1, Matt was elected Montana’s State Auditor in 2016 by nearly 8 points.
As State Auditor, Matt cut his operating costs by 23% and the bureaucracy in his office by eliminating seven vacant job positions, and when Montana’s budget was in crisis, he refused a pay increase even when every elected state official – Republican and Democrat – took one.
Matt is committed to lowering and providing more affordable health care options to Montana families, protecting those with pre-existing conditions, and taking on the billion-dollar pharmaceutical middle-men to bring more transparency to drug prices and lower drug costs for all Montanans.
As a member of the Montana State Land Board, Matt fights tirelessly to protect and expand access to our public lands. Over the last two and a half years, he’s worked to expand access to over 45,000 acres of previously hard-to-reach areas that are now publicly accessible for more hunting, fishing and other recreational activities for Montanans. Matt opposes a federal lands transfer and will continue to fight every day to protect our public access to public lands and will always keep them in public hands! For Matt, Montana always comes first. He will always listen, represent our values, and protect our Montana way of life.