Republican Tim Sheehy has defeated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana, NBC News projects, deepening the expected Republican Senate majority after the party’s victories in West Virginia and Ohio.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, defeated the three-term senator by consolidating Republican voters in a state that has turned a deeper shade of red in recent years. Sheehy and his allies are casting Tester as a liberal Democrat who votes with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, undermining the incumbent’s reputation as a centrist.
Tester sought to defy his state’s partisanship by leaning on his deep roots as a third-generation dirt farmer and touted his bipartisan bona fides, including his clashes with the Biden administration on issues like immigration. Tester and his allies also view Sheehy as the embodiment of the state’s wealthy new residents, arguing that they have driven up costs and threatened Montanans’ access to public lands.
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But Sheehy was eventually able to withstand those attacks. Republicans touted him as a top recruit with a military background who had built an aerial firefighting business in the state, though his business record and the state of his cattle ranch came under scrutiny during the campaign.
The campaigns and outside groups blanketed Montana’s airwaves with more than $250 million in ads.
Republicans became increasingly confident that they could defeat Tester before Election Day, arguing that the state had moved too far to the right for Tester to overcome, and that many of the state’s new residents were leaning Republican.
But Democrats were cautiously optimistic that Montana voters would look at the presidential race and the Senate race through different lenses. They also noted that the Tester campaign’s voting operation, his appeal to independent voters and his support among Native Americans could propel him to victory.
Democrats were also hopeful that Tester would be supported by a ballot initiative in the state, where voters would consider codifying the right to abortion in the state Constitution.
While Sheehy had said he would respect Montana voters’ decision on the issue, he appeared open to supporting federal action on abortion, which Democrats exploited during the campaign and on the air .
Tester argued that Montanans do not want the federal government involved in health care decisions.
Still, it wasn’t enough to help Tester overcome the state’s right-wing tilt.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
