Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy has beaten three-term Democrat Sen. Jon Tester in the Montana Senate race, flipping a key race as Republicans are set to take back control of the Senate, the Associated Press projects.
His win increases the Republican majority in the Senate to at least 52, per the Associated Press projections.
All eyes were on the Big Sky State’s competitive Senate race that saw three-term Senator Tester, the only statewide Democrat elected in Montana, facing former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy.
Early on in the cycle, the Montana race was deemed one of Republicans’ best pickup opportunities and one of Democrats’ most vulnerable seats of the 2024 cycle.
Sheehy launched his Senate bid exclusively with Fox News Digital in June 2023, calling for “a new generation of leaders to step up” in Congress in his bid to oust the red state Democrat.
MONTANA SENATE RACE COULD BE GOP’S BEST BET TO TIP BALANCE OF POWER
Sen. Jon Tester, left, and Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. (Getty Images/Sheehy for Senate)
The Navy SEAL quickly received the backing of prominent GOP members after announcing his candidacy, including Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and John Barrasso of Wyoming.
Before entering the political scene, Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific region, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and a Purple Heart. On top of owning several businesses, the veteran shares four kids with his Marine veteran wife, Carmen Sheehy.
MONTANA MIGHT DECIDE THE SENATE
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Sheehy, who he described as an “American Hero,” in February, after Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale launched a short-lived bid for the seat.
U.S. Senate candidate from Montana Tim Sheehy speaks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
Tester, a former school teacher, was first elected to the Montana Senate in 2006. The Democrat owns a family farm in Big Sandy where he lives with his wife, Sharla.
Tester has taken a more moderate stance on issues during his time in the Senate, openly breaking with the Biden-Harris administration on several issues throughout the years. The Democrat withheld an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris after she became the party’s nominee.
Tester outraised Sheehy throughout the election cycle, but the latest polling leading up to Election Day found that the Republican nominee was leading the race.
Just two months ahead of Election Day, two top political handicappers shifted the Senate race in Sheehy’s favor.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester prepares to debate GOP challenger Tim Sheehy on campus at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (The Missoulian)
The Cook Political Report, an independent nonpartisan elections handicapper, recently shifted the race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” while Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the race to “leans Republican.”
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Democrats were protecting 23 Senate seats this cycle, more than double the number of Republicans who are defending 10 seats in the chamber.
