Troy Downing

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks cited Downing — then a Republican U.S. Senate candidate and CEO of a California company — with nine violations between 2011 and 2016 for purchasing resident hunting and fishing licenses when investigators determined he was not a Montana resident, as he was listed as a California resident on tax returns and referred to California as 'home' on social media. Montana law requires 180 days of residency prior to purchasing resident licenses. Originally charged with nine counts, Downing pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors as part of a plea agreement, one week before trial was scheduled to begin. Judge Bryan Adams of Gallatin County Justice Court imposed a $2,110 fine, a one-year deferred sentence, and an 18-month forfeiture of all Montana hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses.

Montana's Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan determined in July 2020 that Downing's campaign for state auditor had committed seven violations during the June 2020 primary: (1) failing to provide opposing candidates copies of a direct-mail piece mentioning them within 10 days of the primary (Clean Campaign Act); (2) failing to provide copies of a TV ad mentioning opponents within the same window; (3) failing to report the cost of approximately 33,000 direct-mail promotions; (4) failing to report TV ad expenditures from the pre-primary period; (5) 'Troy Downing for Montana' stickers on hand sanitizer bottles lacked required 'paid for by' language; (6) a Facebook ad did not identify Downing as a Republican; and (7) failing to report 25 bottles of hand sanitizer as an in-kind donation or campaign expenditure. The campaign attributed the violations to administrative errors and replaced its compliance team and vendors. Four formal complaints were filed by Perkins and one by Luckey. The COPP cases were placed in 'settlement/litigation in progress' status; no final penalty amount has been publicly disclosed.