| Troy Downing | |
| Office: | Auditor of Montana |
| Governor: | Greg Gianforte |
| Term Start: | January 4, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Matt Rosendale |
| Birth Name: | Troy Bryan Downing[1] |
| Birth Date: | 4 March 1967 |
| Birth Place: | California, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Heather Downing (m. 2004) |
| Children: | 4 |
| Education: | New York University |
| Allegiance: |  United States |
| Battles: | War in Afghanistan |
Troy Downing (born March 4, 1967)[2] is an American politician and businessman serving as the Montana state auditor. Prior to the 2020 election, Downing worked as a real estate developer and technology entrepreneur.
Downing is a native of Indio, California.[3] He studied applied mathematics and computer science at New York University.[4] [5]
Downing was a research scientist and educator at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. After leaving college, Downing founded WebCal, a web calendar company that was later acquired by Yahoo!.[6] Downing later founded a nationwide commercial insurance company and a real estate firm. He enlisted in the United States Air Force after the September 11 attacks and was assigned to a combat search and rescue squadron. During his service, Downing worked as a flight engineer and was deployed to Afghanistan twice.[7] [8] He is the founder and former CEO of AC Self Storage Solutions, a self-storage and real estate investment firm based in Carlsbad, California.[9]
Downing is the co-owner of Wildrye Distilling in Bozeman, Montana, which manufactured thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Montana.[10]
Downing was a candidate in the 2018 United States Senate election in Montana, placing third in the Republican primary.[11]
During the 2020 Montana elections, Troy Downing defeated Scott Tuxbury and Nelly Nicol in the Republican primary for Montana state auditor.[12] On June 2, 2020, Downing became the Republican nominee, winning 55 of 56 counties and receiving 50% of the vote in the three-way primary.
In the general election, Downing defeated state Senator Shane Morigeau. He was sworn in as state auditor on January 4, 2020.[13]
See main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Montana.
In the June 4, 2024, primary, Downing won the eight-way contest to secure the Republican nomination for eastern Montana's 2nd congressional district. He will face Democratic nominee John Driscoll in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Downing is a volunteer for the Warriors and Quiet Waters (WQW) Foundation.
Downing built a vacation home in Big Sky, Montana, in 2000 and moved there full-time in 2009.[14]
In 2017, Downing was charged with hunting license violations.[15] [16] He ultimately pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges, being ordered to pay a $2,110 fine and any court fees.[17] Downing and his wife, Heather, have four children.[18]