3-term Democratic lawmaker tries to hold key US Senate seat in GOP-friendly Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana faces perhaps his toughest reelection challenge yet on Tuesday, with control of the Senate on the line in a state that has veered sharply rightward since the 68-year-old grain farmer's first election.

Republicans have pinned their hopes on Tim Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company. Sheehy, 38, had early backing from party leaders including former President Donald Trump, clearing the political newcomer's path to win the June primary.

It is the first time Tester is sharing the same ballot as Trump, who twice won in Montana by wide margins.

Long lines were seen at Montana polling places as a winter storm brought snow to some parts of the state.

A Sheehy victory would seal Republican Party dominance across the five-state Northern Plains region: Tester entered office as one of six Democratic senators in the largely rural swath of American heartland that also includes Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. He is now the only one.

The lawmaker also is the sole remaining Democrat to hold statewide office in Montana. As results began trickling in Tuesday night, Tester rallied supporters to stand with him.

“I have never had a race called on election night, and I don’t anticipate this one is going to be called on election night,” Tester said at a gathering in a Great Falls hotel. “In the end, with your help and with the folks who are standing in line still, we’re gonna win this damn thing."

About four in 10 voters said Senate control was the most important factor in deciding how to vote in Montana's Senate race, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 1,100 voters in the state.

Overall, almost six in 10 Montana voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor in casting their vote in the general election. About one-third said the high price of groceries, gas and other goods was the most important factor, and roughly three in 10 voters cited the future of free speech in the U.S.

About a quarter of voters said abortion policy was the top factor in casting their vote in the general election. About eight in 10 voters also said the outcome of the state’s abortion ballot initiative was very or somewhat important to them.

The Senate candidates and their allies shattered political spending records and barraged voters with almost $300 million in ads on TV, radio, their phones and in their mailboxes. Total spending is expected to reach about $500 for each active registered voter in Montana.

“This is the toughest race since Tester got in,” said political analyst Jeremy Johnson, “and Tim Sheehy is a real formidable candidate.”

In the race's final days, Tester's campaign plastered Montana newspapers and airwaves with advertisements amplifying claims from a former park ranger that Sheehy lied about a bullet wound in his arm.

Sheehy said during an interview with conservative pundit Megyn Kelly that the wound came from combat in Afghanistan and wasn’t accidentally self-inflicted as he told the ranger in 2015. The Republican said Tester was trying to smear him and other SEALs vouched for Sheehy’s integrity, but he hasn't released any corroborating medical records.

Montana's political profile has shifted dramatically since Tester's first election in 2006. It went from a “purple” state that traditionally sent a mix of Democrats and Republicans to higher offices, to one where partisan divisions rule and the GOP enjoys a supermajority in the state Legislature.

Tester warned throughout the campaign about “outsiders” such as Sheehy — who came to Montana in 2014 and bought a ranch — driving up housing prices and restricting hunting and fishing access for the general public.

“We’re seeing a lot of folks come into our state, rich folk, who want to try to buy our state, to try to change it into something that it’s not,” Tester said.

Tester, the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, has built a record as a moderate over his 18 years in office. He has delivered legislation such as expanding health care for veterans and bringing broadband to rural areas, while sometimes opposing Democratic proposals to tighten rules for the energy industry.

But Tester also consistently voted with Democrats on major legislation, putting him out of step with Montana's hardening conservatism.

Gerry Boland, a Great Falls businessman, said he’s supported Tester since his first run for U.S. Senate in 2006, including holding a fundraiser for him.

“He just has a way of coming through at the end. We’re still hanging in there with Jon," Boland said.

In the small city of Columbus, Montana, John Hungerford, 71, said after casting his ballot for Sheehy that Tester hadn't done enough to address his top issues — immigration and inflation — and too often followed the Democratic party line.

“His voting record is not indicative of the values in Montana,” Hungerford said.

Sheehy sought to dent Tester's reputation for authenticity by highlighting more than $500,000 that lobbyists and their families donated to Tester this election cycle. Republicans alleged a pattern of campaign donations flowing to the Democrat from industries that needed his vote, after the lawmaker faced scrutiny over donations from bank executives affected by a 2018 regulatory roll back and from Lockheed Martin employees who benefited from a 2021 defense bill.

There was no indication of wrongdoing by Tester. But Sheehy's tactic mirrored Tester’s 2006 upset of a three-term Republican incumbent who was ensnared in a lobbying scandal.

Sheehy touted his military service and business experience and also linked Tester to the perceived failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

“We’ve got an economy that’s on its knees. We’ve got foreign policy crises all over the world that we can’t even hope to begin to address right now. It’s time for a change in leadership,” Sheehy said.

The Tester campaign's response was to remind voters of his longtime advocacy in Congress for Montana's economically vital agriculture industry.

Tester also paired his campaign with efforts to pass a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. It was part of an effort to court the independents and moderate Republicans whose support has kept Tester in office even as the state shifted rightward.