Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy (R) criticized his opponent, Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, for his ties to lobbyists during Monday's debate.
Tester aims to hold onto his Senate seat and continue to represent red state Montana in elections that will determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress, with recent polls showing him just weeks before Election Day. It is shown that Mr. Sheehy is in the lead.
In Monday's debate, Sheehy slammed his Democratic opponent for his ties to Washington, D.C., lobbyists.
“Senator Tester knows his way around the backroom and has been in it for 20 years…He was eating lobbyists' steaks in Washington, D.C. while I was fighting in Afghanistan,” said the former said Sheehy, a U.S. Navy SEAL.
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Tim Sheehy prepares for a debate with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester on the University of Montana campus on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Missoula, Montana. (The Missourian via AP)
According to the nonpartisan group OpenSecret, lobbyists donated more money to Tester than to any other member of Congress during this election cycle.
Tester is the last Democrat to hold high office in Montana, and Republicans, including former President Trump, hope Tester can defeat vulnerable Democrats and help Republicans regain the Senate majority. and supported Mr. Sheehy's campaign.
Republicans need to win just two seats in next month's election to gain a Senate majority. Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is seen as key to contesting the state's Senate race against Democrat Glenn Elliott, with the Senate majority likely to pass through Montana.
Sheehy said Trump won Montana by about 17 points in 2020, and given that the state is overwhelmingly Republican, Sheehy comes as Republican candidates seek to capitalize on public dissatisfaction with the administration. has frequently sought to link Mr. Tester to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. It is struggling to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants at its southern border.
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U.S. Sen. Jon Tester prepares for a debate with Republican challenger Tim Sheehy on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. (The Missourian via AP)
“Democrats on the Hill have refused to hold the administration accountable for the largest mass migration in the history of this country,” Sheehy said.
However, Tester has refused to endorse Harris and has tried to distance herself from Harris during her campaign, and the Democratic National Democratic Party in August announced that she was nominated as the party's presidential candidate following Biden's withdrawal. I was absent from the tournament.
The Democratic Party has also criticized some of the administration's policy decisions. This includes his opposition to efforts to tighten pollution regulations for coal-fired power plants and calls for more action on immigration.
“I'll be the first to tell you that President Biden is not doing a good job at the southern border,” Tester said Monday.
Sheehy and Tester also mentioned abortion, with Democrats calling for Roe v. after a landmark decision overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago returned the power to pass abortion laws to states. He said he wants to revive the Wade case.
Tim Sheehy (left) prepares for a debate with Sen. Jon Tester (right) on Monday, September 30, 2024, on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. (The Missourian via AP)
A Republican lawmaker acknowledged that his comments about Native Americans last year were “insensitive,” but rejected his opponent's demands for an apology. Sheehy told supporters with a laugh that he bonded with “all the Indians while they were drunk at 8 a.m.” while tending cattle on his ranch on the Crow Indian Reservation.
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“Yeah, that's insensitive,” Sheehy said. “Like many members of my tribe, I come from a military background. As you know, we sometimes tell insensitive and perhaps sick jokes.”
Tester told him, “Tim, what you said degrades the dignity of Native Americans across this country. You're a great man, so just apologize.''
“Are you going to apologize for opening the border?” Sheehy shot back.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
