The special election for U.S. House in Montana is finished. Greg Gianforte, with the aid of nearly 40% of the early voting in prior to Wednesday’s body slam debacle that Gail wrote about here, eked out a win over Rob Quist by a margin of 6%.

Voters here shrugged off the episode and handed Republicans a convincing victory. Mr. Gianforte took slightly more than 50 percent of the vote to about 44 percent for Mr. Quist. (President Trump won Montana by about 20 percentage points.) Mr. Gianforte’s success underscored the limitations of the Democrats’ strategy of highlighting the House’s health insurance overhaul and relying on liberal anger toward the president, at least in red-leaning states.

This was a special election set up when Ryan Zinke was appointed as Interior Secretary by President Trump. Needless to say, the race was weird from the start. Legal Insurrection’s William Jacobson summed it up perfectly.

Rock’em Sock’em Republican candidate Greg Gianforte, best known for “body-slamming” and ego-shaming a reporter for The Guardian, defeated Democratic Candidate Rob Quist, best known as a nudist resort socialist Cowboy poet and singer.

Yeah, I’d say that description nails it. Here’s the thing, the Democrats tried to make this race about Trump. They tried to make this race about healthcare, and they tried to make this race about themselves. The media was complicit in this. Then again, the Montana Republicans, IMO, didn’t field a good candidate even BEFORE his rumble with the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs.

It’s also worth pointing out that this is the THIRD time since President Trump’s election that a special election has been held and it’s the THIRD time the Democrats have lost in races they were so very certain was a lock for them.

Democrats couldn't beat a guy who physically assaulted someone a day before the election. Let that sink in for a second.

— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) May 26, 2017