HELENA, Mont. – Democratic Governors Association-backed Super PAC, Good Jobs Montana, is investing $200,000 in Montana’s gubernatorial race to boost career bureaucrat Mike Cooney’s campaign.

Cooney is the first candidate in the gubernatorial race to have big outside money supporting his campaign, despite making an explicit commitment against outside spending in this very election nine months ago to the day.

Last October, Cooney railed against outside spending in Montana’s elections, going so far as to call for his opponents to take pledges to limit outside spending in the gubernatorial race. Even if other Democratic gubernatorial candidates didn’t sign the pledge, Cooney committed – at the time – to “follow the conditions” regardless.

The Montana Republican Party issued the following statement in response to Lieutenant Governor Cooney’s blatant hypocrisy:

“In a matter of nine months, Lieutenant Governor Cooney has gone from promising to keep outside money away from this election, to welcoming a $200k dark money ad-blitz to boost his cash-strapped campaign,” said Executive Director Spenser Merwin. “It is now clear that Cooney’s pledge against outside spending and dark money was nothing more than political theatre, calling into serious question whether Cooney can be taken at his word in his campaign to be Montana’s next governor.”