Formerly 'all in' House candidate now won't run

Two Republican state legislators from Flathead County, Jon Sonju and Scott Reichner, say they won’t be candidates for the U.S. House next year.

In separate interviews, each cited family concerns.

It was an about-face for Sonju, a state senator from Kalispell and Republican governor candidate Rick Hill’s running mate in 2012. Less than two weeks ago, Sonju said he was “all in” the House race.

Both Sonju and Reichner were eyeing the U.S. House seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, who is widely expected to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by longtime Democratic Sen. Max Baucus in 2014.

Sonju had gone to Washington, D.C., to meet with the National Republican Congressional Committee, business and gun-rights groups last month and seemed a sure bet to run for the House, if Daines jumped into the Senate race.

“You have to be all in, and I’m all in,” Sonju told the Gazette State Bureau on Sept. 24.

On Thursday, he was all out.

“I spent the last 45 days traveling around Montana,” Sonju said. “It was great to have the support that I was receiving. I had some window time to reflect on family and business. I just thought I would spend more time with family and tend to the business side of things.”

Sonju, 37, said he plans to remain active in politics, helping other candidates. Reichner, meanwhile, said he also decided to skip the House race and will run instead for an open state Senate seat.

“I looked at this long and hard, and at the end of the day, I have eight children still at home,” Reichner said. “It would be a great opportunity. I had a lot of support. It came down to a family decision. I would see my kids once a week, on Sunday.”

Reichner said he believes he could have been a strong candidate for the U.S. House seat.