Troy Downing (born March 4, 1967)[2] is an American politician and businessman serving as the Montana state auditor.[3] Prior to the 2020 election, Downing worked as a real estate developer and technology entrepreneur.
Downing was a research scientist and educator at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.[3] After leaving college, Downing founded WebCal, a web calendar company that was later acquired by Yahoo!.[7] Downing later founded a nationwide commercial insurance company and a real estate firm.[3] He enlisted in the United States Air Force after the September 11 attacks and was assigned to a combat search and rescue squadron.[3] During his service, Downing worked as a flight engineer and was deployed to Afghanistan twice.[8][9] He is the founder and former CEO of AC Self Storage Solutions, a self-storage and real estate investment firm based in Carlsbad, California.[10]
During the 2020 Montana elections, Troy Downing defeated Scott Tuxbury and Nelly Nicol in the Republican primary for Montana state auditor.[13] 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.[13]
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.
Personal life
Downing is a volunteer for the Warriors and Quiet Waters (WQW) Foundation.[3]
Downing built a vacation home in Big Sky, Montana, in 2000 and moved there full-time in 2009.[15]
In 2017, Downing was charged with hunting license violations.[16][17] He ultimately pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges, being ordered to pay a $2,110 fine and any court fees.[18] Downing and his wife, Heather, have four children.[3]