A Republican candidate in a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate has made derogatory remarks about Native Americans during campaign fundraising events, according to recordings released by local media.
Tim Sheehy, a wealthy cattle rancher who Donald Trump endorsed in his bid to become a senator for Montana, made the claims repeatedly during a series of meetings where he bragged about maintaining ties and building relationships with members of the Crow reservation, the official home of the indigenous Crow tribe.
In one clip, Sheehy recounts tying and branding cattle with members of the Crow gang, calling it “a great way to bond with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8 in the morning.”
In another recording he says, “I was actually in the Crow Res and if you want a tough crowd… you miss that double heel shot, there’s a Coors Light can on the side of your head.”
The references to a Coors Light can being thrown were recorded at three different meetings, according to Char-Koosta News, which reports on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. In one instance, Sheehy says the flying cans are a sign of whether Crow members “like you or not.”
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According to the recordings, the comments were always met with laughter from the audience.
The outlet reported that it is still trying to establish the authenticity of the footage, but it has identified the date and location of two of the fundraisers, which took place in November last year.
The Guardian has contacted Sheehy’s campaign for comment.
Sheehy, 37, a former Navy Seal who moved to Montana 10 years ago, is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in a race seen as potentially pivotal in the Republican quest to regain control of the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority.
Revealing his remarks could undermine his efforts. Native tribes make up 6% of the population of Montana, which is home to seven reservations and 12 tribes. Native groups have accused both Democrats and Republicans of ignoring basic needs on reservations.
Polls show the candidates of both parties locked in a neck-and-neck race. The most recent tally of 13 voter surveys published by Hill shows Sheehy with a 3.5 percent lead in a heavily Republican state.
Tester, a moderate and Montana-born voter who skipped the Democratic national convention last month to focus on defending the seat he has held for 18 years, has tried to portray Sheehy — who is partly financing his own campaign — as a wealthy outsider.
The GOP candidate’s comments about Crow members are seen as particularly embarrassing because the tribe is seen as vocally pro-Trump. Native Americans have been a key voter bloc for Tester in his three previous successful campaigns, but he has been warned that their support is not guaranteed.
Calvin Lime, who lives on another Native reservation in the state, called Sheehy’s comments “a slap in the face” to Crow members.
“They bring him in there, they work with him, they’re happy, they promote him, but behind closed doors they’re the drunk Indian,” he told the New York Times. “Behind closed doors you’re actually seen as lesser.”
The Crow Reservation is spread across three different counties in southern Montana and has a population of approximately 7,900.
News of Sheehy’s comments is not the first potentially damaging episode in his campaign. Last year, he was put on the defensive after sexist and racist Facebook posts allegedly written by him came to light.
Insiders said the posts – posted between 2006 and 2008 and since deleted – were “full of questionable images” and included “indecent photos of women, a caricature of Middle Eastern people and homoerotic jokes”.
