John Edward Walsh in Politico.com

On Principles & Values: AdWatch: "Big Sky buyoff" to appoint Walsh to Senate early

Under Montana law, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock can appoint whomever he wants to fill the Senate seat until the next election. National Democratic sources expect that appointment to be Walsh, who polls show has been trailing Republican candidate Steve Daines.

Democrats argue that appointing Walsh to the Senate seat nearly a year before the election would give him a leg up against Daines. Republicans, meanwhile, have begun painting Walsh as a D.C. insider, calling him Senate Majority Leader "Harry Reid and Barack Obama's handpicked US senator." They also have blasted the news of his potential appointment as Washington backroom dealing, dubbing it the "big sky buyoff"--an approach that could ultimately hurt Walsh, who's been running as a Beltway outsider.