Republicans quietly push Libertarian out of race

The deadline to officially exit the race closed Monday and Daoud will be on the ballot.

In addition to Trump and Montana Republican Party Chairman Don ‘K’ Kaltschmidt, Sen. Steve Daines and an unidentified Tim Sheehy campaign staff member also spoke to him about dropping out, Daoud said. Daines chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, one of the main groups responsible for gaining a Republican Senate majority back. Most of those implicated acknowledged talking to Daoud but denied encouraging him to step aside.

Trump was in Montana on Friday to campaign in support of Sheehy, the Republican nominee for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Daoud said he was contacted by a Sheehy campaign staffer Friday morning, the day of the Trump rally on Montana State University’s campus. Daoud told the campaign he had work in the Flathead (where he lives) until 2 p.m., so he was not planning on attending the Bozeman rally that evening.

But then there was a plane waiting for him.

“They chartered me a plane and flew me down here,” Daoud said following the rally’s conclusion, adding that he sat in the front seat with the pilot and talked politics. Daoud said he did not know who paid for the flight and that he “didn’t pay anything.”

During Trump’s speech, which spanned roughly an hour and 45 minutes, he remarked on “a great Libertarian” in the crowd and called out Daoud by name.

“What a nice guy, Sid,” Trump said, asking Daoud to stand. “A lot of us are Libertarian and I think he’s going to be giving you a very nice surprise soon.”

Daoud — who said he did not know Trump was going to ask him to stand — interpreted that as a public hint to drop out. Daoud added that a Sheehy staffer told him that if he was ready Friday night, that they would bring him up on stage to announce his exit from the race and endorse the Republican candidate.

Daoud added that once Trump made those remarks, he started getting texts and calls from his “fellow Libertarians” asking if he planned to drop out.

“I told them I have a responsibility to the Montana Libertarians … I’m not here to help anyone I don’t believe in,” Daoud said. “I want to make it completely clear: I am not dropping out of the race,” Daoud added directly following the rally.

The Sheehy campaign characterized the conversations differently.

“The chairman of the National Libertarian Party reached out to us to facilitate a conversation with Sid and members of the Montana Libertarian Party,” Jack O’Brien, spokesperson for the Sheehy campaign said in an email. “We were happy to do so because the two parties have far more in common than not. Tim and Sid had a good and productive conversation and found that they agree on a lot of issues.”

Daoud specifically said that Daines and Kaltschmidt suggested that…[content truncated for brevity]