Who is Greg Gianforte? In Montana, the Republican’s outburst against reporter came as little surprise

He’s a wealthy software entrepreneur, known for his brash persona and political ambitions.

And as election day neared, Greg Gianforte seemed a shoo-in to win a special election for Montana’s lone congressional seat.

But as voters headed to the polls Thursday, questions swirled about his candidacy: Would Gianforte face backlash from those casting ballots after he was charged with assaulting a reporter? Or would voters look the other way? Might some even silently cheer the altercation captured on audiotape?

A day earlier, Gianforte allegedly grabbed and slammed to the ground a reporter from the Guardian newspaper after he asked Gianforte about healthcare at the Republican’s campaign headquarters. Late Wednesday night, Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault by the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

For those in Montana, a bastion of conservatism where Republicans have held the state’s lone congressional seat for 23 years, Gianforte has been a familiar figure for years, primarily as a businessman. In 1997, he founded RightNow Technologies, a software company based in Bozeman. After operating it as a private enterprise, Gianforte, who employed nearly 500 people, sold it to Oracle in 2011 for nearly $1.8 billion.

Gianforte, 56, had donated to political campaigns in the past, and decided to enter politics with a run for governor last year. From the get-go, his relationship with the news media was strained. At his campaign kickoff event, Gianforte refused to take any questions from reporters.

Even after Gianforte won the Republican nomination for governor, his disdain for answering reporters’ questions continued. He would avoid journalists at town halls and meet-and-greets with voters.

When President Trump tapped then-Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Department of Interior, Gianforte saw another political opportunity. He entered the special election this spring, and his relationship with the media remained tense as ever.

In April, Gianforte joked about ganging up on a reporter at town hall with hundreds of supporters. The move drew criticism from Rob Quist, Gianforte’s Democratic rival for the open seat.

A day after the Republican’s clash with the Guardian reporter, three major local newspapers — the Missoulian, the Billings Gazette and the Independent Record in Helena — withdrew their endorsements of Gianforte.

“We wouldn’t condone it if it happened in a home or even a late-night bar fight. And we couldn’t accept it from a man who is running to become Montana’s lone Congressional representative,” the Billings Gazette said in an editorial.

The Missoulian wrote: “There is no doubt that Gianforte committed an act of terrible judgment that, if it doesn’t land him in jail, also shouldn’t land him in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

“He showed … that he lacks the experience, brains and abilities to effectively represent Montana in any elected office,” the editorial added.

Montana has been something of an anomaly among red states. Although it is Republican-leaning, there is a broad populist streak going back to the robber baron days of the state’s copper kings, and the right kind of Democrat — one seen as autonomous from Washington and attuned to the state’s gun-loving culture — can win political office. After all, the man who defeated Gianforte in the race for governor, Steve Bullock, is a Democrat.

Even so, Gianforte lost to Bullock by less than 4 percentage points, and polls have showed him as the front-runner in the special election. Would Montanans be willing to overlook the assault citation? In some quarters, the answer is yes.

“This hasn’t changed my view at all,” said Kyle Nielsen, who has owned Grains of Montana Restaurant & Bakery in Billings for 13 years.

He had cast an absentee ballot for Gianforte and didn’t regret it. “I’m waiting for more information.… I do think news reports can be biased against Republicans,” he said. “We need more information.”

Nielsen, 43, said that while he’s not a registered Republican, he tends to vote for conservatives because he believes they understand the needs of small-business owners. Nielsen said his wife and two adult children also supported Gianforte. Last year, they all voted for Trump

“We’ve seen how the media likes to battle Trump and Republicans every day, and this is nothing new,” Nielsen said.

Dave Hunter, a Democratic strategist who has spent decades in Montana politics, summed up Gianforte’s chances.

“Greg Gianforte is a damaged product and not very appealing to very many Montanans,” Hunter said. “But the fact that he’s a Republican is probably more important than any of that to a lot of those voters.”

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee

Staff writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this report.

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