Republican officers rally behind first challenger to endangered Democratic Sen. Jon Tester

A parade of high-profile GOP officers is throwing help behind Tim Sheehy’s bid to oust Montana’s final Democrat holding statewide workplace.

Mr. Sheehy, an aerospace millionaire and former Navy SEAL, is vying for the Republican nomination to tackle longtime Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. He has racked up a batch of GOP endorsements, together with one from the state’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, as he seeks to scare off any potential competitors within the major race.

Mr. Gianforte was the most recent GOP official to throw help behind Mr. Sheehy inside days of the marketing campaign launch final week. Mr. Gianforte referred to as Mr. Sheehy a “good friend” and lauded his enterprise expertise and navy service.

“I know Tim Sheehy will serve Montana well in the U.S. Senate, and he has my full support,” Mr. Gianforte stated in a press release.

Endorsements additionally poured in from GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

The Montana Senate race is certainly one of a handful of key contests set to find out whether or not Democrats can maintain onto their slender majority within the higher chamber.

Democrats maintain a razor-thin 51-49 majority within the Senate, and Mr. Tester is among the many occasion’s most susceptible incumbents. He is the lone Democrat elected to statewide workplace in a state that has been shifting additional and additional to the precise in recent times. 

The Montana Democratic Party was fast to go after Mr. Sheehy after his announcement. The occasion launched an internet site, transplanttim.com, to query his Montana roots and spotlight that Mr. Sheehy was recruited by nationwide Republicans. 

Mr. Sheehy, a Minnesota native, was recruited by Sen. Steve Daines, who’s Montana’s junior senator and chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The Montana Republican Party has remained impartial for the first race.

For now, Mr. Sheehy has a transparent path to the Republican nomination in Montana, however there may be hypothesis Rep. Matt Rosendale will enter the GOP major.

Mr. Rosendale, who misplaced to Mr. Tester by over 3 share factors in 2018, has not shut down the thought.

Mr. Rosendale decried Mr. Sheehy’s marketing campaign announcement on social media final week, saying that the businessman was an institution candidate picked by Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who is very unpopular with the occasion’s arch-conservative wing.

A spokesperson for Mr. Rosendale famous {that a} Public Policy Polling survey final month confirmed the congressman with a 54-point benefit over Mr. Sheehy, and an OnMessage ballot in February confirmed Mr. Rosendale with a 5-point benefit over Mr. Tester. 

Another potential contender is Rep. Ryan Zinke, a fellow Navy SEAL who pinned the Purple Heart Award on Mr. Sheehy in 2015. Mr. Zinke has not introduced his reelection run in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, however he has signaled help for Mr. Sheehy.