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By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
Steven Daines
HELENA — Bozeman businessman Steven Daines is the odds-on favorite to win the Republican U.S. House of Representatives primary June 5, but his campaign is having trouble identifying which office he’s seeking this fall.
Daines’ campaign sent out a fundraising letter last week that included a “Daines for Senate 2012” sticker, according to Intelligent Discontent, a Helena-based liberal blog.
David Herbst, a Daines campaign staffer, confirmed the snafu during a phone call with Montana Watchdog last week. Herbst said the campaign’s printing company made the error.
Herbst declined to answer how many of the stickers and letters the campaign sent out and directed calls to Daines’ campaign manager, Zach Lahn, who has not returned two calls on the issue.
It might have been an easy mistake to make, given Daines’ recent political history. In late 2010, Daines announced his plan to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester for his seat this year, but backed off when U.S. House Rep. Denny Rehberg stepped up to take on Tester.
After Rehberg’s entry into the U.S. Senate contest, Daines declared for Montana’s lone congressional seat.
He faces nominal opposition in the GOP primary and is considered the front runner in the race overall.
