BOZEMAN, Mont. — The ending was shocking, but the result was no surprise.Despite a bizarre election eve altercation with a reporter that led to a citation for misdemeanor assault, Republican Greg Gianforte kept a red-state House seat in Republican hands in Thursday’s Montana special election.Yet his closer-than-expected victory against Democrat Rob Quist for the at-large congressional seat proved revealing, exposing GOP weaknesses that could threaten the party’s House majority in 2018 but reminding Democrats of the uphill climb ahead against President Donald Trump.Here are POLITICO’s five takeaways after the messy two-month brawl and wild final twenty-four hours:Trump was an asset, not a dragDonald Trump won Montana by 21 points in November, and Gianforte — then running for governor — lost by 4.