Tim Sheehy, a businessman and former Navy SEAL, won the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Montana on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, setting him up for a November showdown against Sen. Jon Tester, the Democratic incumbent.
After counting about half the votes, Mr. Sheehy had 73 percent, well ahead of his lesser-known opponents. Brad Johnson, former Montana secretary of state, had 19 percent of the vote, and Charles Walkingchild 7.5 percent.
“As a Navy SEAL, I have always put country before myself and I am running for the United States Senate to end Joe Biden and Jon Tester’s inflation, seal our border, secure our children’s future and putting America first,” Mr. Sheehy said in a statement, adding that he was “humbled and honored by all of this support.”
The Republican primary had essentially been a foregone conclusion since February, when Rep. Matt Rosendale abruptly left the race — less than a week after entering it — citing former President Donald J. Trump’s support for Mr. Trump. Hey. Mr. Rosendale, a right-wing hardliner, was seen as the only serious challenger to Mr. Sheehy, for whom the Republican establishment had worked to clear the ground. His victory is a boon for Republicans as they strive to regain control of the Senate, competing on favorable terrain in which a number of vulnerable Democrats face tough re-election battles.
“Tim Sheehy is a strong conservative, an American hero and a successful businessman who will bring an outsider’s perspective to a broken Washington,” said Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican who heads the Republican Senate Committee National, which works to elect Republicans to the party. Senate. “The clearest path to a Republican majority in the Senate is through Montana.”
Mr. Sheehy will face a formidable opponent in Mr. Tester, a popular incumbent who has weathered past challenges in his ruby-red state by relying on his experience as a third-generation Montana farmer and his reputation of bipartisanship. Recent polls suggest a close race, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Montana as a “toss-up.” Mr. Tester officially won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.
In a post on X Tuesday evening, Mr. Tester acknowledged his November opponent: “It’s official. I’m facing Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked candidate, Tim Sheehy, for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat. And I will win.
M. The tester has a financial advantage; He raised $4.1 million between April 1 and May 15, according to recent financial filings, and his campaign has $11.7 million in cash on hand. Mr. Sheehy’s campaign raised $2.1 million during the same period — including $600,000 that the candidate loaned himself — and had $2.2 million in cash on hand.
But Republicans believe that Mr. Tester, first elected in 2006, is particularly vulnerable in this election. After more than 17 years in Washington, they believe his rural, working-class rhetoric has worn thin with Montana voters and say he has been a reliable vote for laws signed by President Biden, who is unpopular with voters of State. They plan to blame the border crisis and Montana’s rising cost of living on Mr. Biden and, by extension, Mr. Tester.
Democrats responded by attacking Mr. Sheehy’s biography. As a wealthy businessman who grew up in Minnesota and moved to Montana a decade ago, they say he embodies a trend of wealth shifting to the state and rising prices of real estate, which infuriated longtime residents. (Mr. Sheehy, who runs an aerial firefighting business and has a stake in a cattle ranch, grew rich after moving to the state.)
They also poked holes in his story, particularly highlighting lingering questions about how he suffered a gunshot wound that he said came from his time in Afghanistan.