“Mr. Gianforte never spoke against these two men to whom he had donated money, never denounced their racist words and actions,” Franklin wrote. “It’s not normal to support white supremacists. White supremacy is not a Montana value.”

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Gianforte has previously distanced himself from Wilson, telling The Huffington Post through a campaign spokesman last fall that he was “unfamiliar with Mr. Wilson’s writings outside of their mutual involvement” in the Christian school organization that reports more than 200 members.

Asked twice Wednesday if he would have contributed to Rose’s campaign if he had known as much about his views as he does now, Gianforte would not say, but did denounce racism and discrimination generally.

“I will say clearly that hatred is wrong and it has no place in politics or government. I completely reject it," he said.

Gianforte said his contribution to Rose’s campaign was simply one of several such donations to Republican races across the state. Since 2000, he and his wife have made more than 500 contributions in Montana elections. Of those, 134 were made to support 114 Republicans on the November 2016 ballot.