"Greg made an investment in his campaign. .... He's not going to be bought by special interests," said Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon, noting that Quist, citing FEC reports, paid himself $7,000 from his campaign funds.

Scanlon sought to shift the focus on the source of Quist's fundraising. "Over $2 million, and we don't know where it came from," he said.

Both Quist and Gianforte have sworn off money from political action committees linked to industry groups, and, in finance reports, it appears both have kept their word. But Democrats pounced on Gianforte when he seemed to suggest during the teleconference that there were ways around his pledge.

"We do not accept any industry PAC money — although if someone wanted to support through a PAC, our Victory Fund allows that money to go to all the get-out-the-vote efforts," he said. He said it would be a "self-inflicted wound" if he were to take any industry PAC money because he had "made a big deal about" it during last year's governor's race when he challenged the Democratic incumbent, Gov. Steve Bullock, to refuse money from PACs.

A spokesman asserted that Gianforte was speaking about contributions to the Montana Republican Party and his victory efforts.