Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy wants to flip a Montana Senate seat in November 2024.
Unseating Sen. John Tester (D-MT) would help the GOP regain the majority in the upper chamber.
Sheehy, also a businessman and firefighting pilot, announced his campaign on Tuesday:
“From inflation to our border to our deficit, America is ready for change. And I think it’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “Leaders who understand servant leadership, which is putting the mission before yourself, and leaders who understand how to get results.””I think Americans are feeling underrepresented. They’re tired of a government that they don’t feel is working for them,” the candidate said when asked why he decided to throw his hat into the ring for the Democrat-held seat.
Sheehy served in Afghanistan, Iraq, South America, and the Pacific. He received “the Bronze Star for Heroism in Combat and the Purple Heart Medal.”
But before Tester, Sheehy has to win the primary. Rep. Matt Rosendale told colleagues in the House and Senate he wants to challenge Tester again. He lost to him in 2018.
But the National Republican Senatorial Committee backs Sheehy:
Rep. Ryan Zinke’s name has been thrown around but he doesn’t know if he would throw his hat into the ring.
As of now, Cook Political Report has the Montana race leaning Democrat. But only barely:
As we previously reported, a poll from the Political Company, a Montana-based GOP firm, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 1 (534 LVs, +/- 4%) showed Tester leading both Rosendale (45%-40%) and Zinke (46%-40%). However, the poll also tested Gov. Greg Gianforte against Tester (it may have been designed to pique his interest in the race) and showed the governor and Democratic senator tied at 45% each. Attorney General Austin Knudsen has also shown interest, and state Auditor Troy Downing, who lost to Rosendale in the 2018 primary, is also mentioned.
Rosendale lost to Tester in 2018 by 3.5 points.
Trump easily defeated Biden in Montana in 2020 and 2016.
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