Friday I wrote about Montana Congressman Steve Daines voting to reopen the government saying, “Daines may suffer some blowback from his Tea Party base for not staying the course and fighting longer. Some may even call him a RINO (Republican In Name Only).”

It did not take long.

On Sunday, Dr. Ed Berry over at the PolyMontana Blog wrote an article with the headline “Montana Congressman Steve Daines voted for Obamacare” in which he asked several questions like, “Why did we elect him if not to stop Obamacare?” and “Does he think he has the Republican primary race for US Senate wrapped up?” and, “Who will run against Steve Daines for US Senate so we can elect a Senator who will not cave in to the Democrats?”

You can read Berry’s column HERE.

Daines has not indicated if he will run for re-election for Montana’s At-Large U.S. House seat that he currently holds, or if he will run for the open U.S. Senate seat. No matter which race he enters, with his vote to open the government (and for Obamacare) he created a big problem for himself. Daines is a rookie and he’s only held elective office since January, so some might forgive him for straying to the middle, but not the Tea Party. 

He may no longer have an easy primary if he runs for the U.S. Senate, and if past races are any indication, the Tea Party may find a candidate to challenge him in the U.S. House if he decides to run for reelection there.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Champ Edmunds issued a press release saying he was considering staying in the senate race because of Daines’ vote saying, “Montanans deserve a conservative candidate.” Ouch!

The Associated Press reported, “A Republican who wants to replace Daines in the House says he would have voted differently. State Sen. Matt Rosendale told supporters that Congress is just sidestepping tough choices.”

The biggest concern for Daines as a U.S. Senate candidate should be if a strong Libertarian candidate enters the Senate race. Libertarians took valuable votes from Conrad Burns in 2006 and Denny Rehberg in 2012, which helped Democrat Jon Tester defeat them.

Some conservatives may have to vote for a Libertarian once again just to feel satisfied and to make a point.

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