Another potential candidate, former state Sen. Steve Doherty, D-Great Falls, said he expects to announce his plans soon, but on Friday, he sounded unlikely to jump into the race.
That leaves the Montana Democratic Party without a challenger for Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg with nine months before the November election. Rehberg is seeking a fifth term.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee asked him in April 2007 to consider running for Congress, but Jent said he decided against it because Yellowstone County Commissioner Bill Kennedy had already entered the race. Kennedy dropped out of the race in November because of health problems.
“It's too damn late,” Jent said. “I'm a practical guy. I think I've got a reputation of being a pragmatic guy (in the Legislature) because all my stuff passes. I have friends on both sides. It hasn't seemed to matter to me who's in charge.”
Jent lost a Democratic bid for the U.S. House in 1996, but is fond of pointing out that he is the only one of the four Democrats and three Republicans from that primary who holds elective office today.
A Tennessee native, West Point graduate and a Green Beret, Jent is a Bozeman lawyer. He was elected to three terms in the Montana House before winning a four-year term in the Senate in 2006.
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