Former Navy SEAL seeks GOP nod to problem Montana Democratic U.S. Sen. Tester in 2024

BILLINGS, Mont. — Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy introduced Tuesday he’ll search the 2024 Republican nomination to problem Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester because the Democrat tries to safe a fourth time period.

Sheehy, 37, was recruited by GOP leaders wanting to unseat Tester as they attempt to wrest management of the Senate from Democrats, who maintain a slim majority and can have a number of weak incumbents on the 2024 poll, together with Tester.

Sheehy runs an aerial firefighting firm, Bridger Aerospace, which he based close to Bozeman after shifting to Montana in 2014. This is his first run for public workplace, and he stated in a phone interview that his army service and enterprise background will set him aside within the race.

“What I’m seeing now is kind of a government devoid of common sense,” he stated Tuesday. “It’s a lot of rhetoric, a lot of demagoguery, but not a lot of people sitting down actually trying to solve the serious problems we face as a country.”

His entry shakes up a GOP main that was beforehand thought-about a possible battle between Montana’s two U.S. representatives – Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke.

Zinke – additionally a former Navy SEAL and who served as Interior secretary below Trump – is now supporting Sheehy.

But Rosendale remains to be thought-about to be eyeing a run after dropping to Tester in 2018. Rosendale aligns with the occasion’s excessive proper wing and has been closely backed in previous elections by the conservative fundraising group Club for Growth.

Tester, a central Montana farmer considered as a Senate average, received his 2018 election by 4 proportion factors. Following his occasion’s poor exhibiting in Montana in 2020, Tester grew to become the one Democrat in Montana to carry statewide workplace, reflecting a decade-long rise by Republicans.

Sheehy’s entrance into the competition was anticipated by Democrats, who in latest weeks issued statements criticizing the Republican as a newcomer to the state.

Montana Democratic Party spokeswoman Monica Robinson described Sheehy in a Tuesday assertion as ”an out-of-state transplant recruited by Mitch McConnell and DC lobbyists.”

She added that Tester “has farm equipment that’s been in Montana longer than Tim Sheehy.”

Sheehy stated he was born in Minnesota and moved to Montana to start out Bridger Aerospace after being wounded in fight in Afghanistan.

“I didn’t live here because I was fighting our nation’s wars and defending America, as was my wife,” he stated. Carmen Sheehy is a U.S. Marine veteran and served in Afghanistan, in line with the Sheehy marketing campaign.

His platform largely is according to nationwide Republican priorities reminiscent of securing the southern U.S. border, opposing gun management and decreasing authorities’s position in offering well being care.

The solely different Montana Republican to formally enter the 2024 Senate race is Jeremy Mygland, who runs an East Helena house building firm. Mygland has raised about $85,000 since final July, Federal Election Commission marketing campaign filings present.

Tester, 66, received his three prior Senate elections by slim margins.

Former President Donald Trump campaigned closely on Rosendale’s behalf in 2018 as Republicans portrayed Tester as too liberal for the state and criticized him for accepting cash linked to company lobbyists, a observe that’s continued.

Tester introduced in additional than $9 million since his final election and had greater than $7 million remaining as of March 31, marketing campaign filings present.