Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican freshman Tim Sheehy won Montana’s Senate primary on Tuesday, locking in the candidates for a crucial November election that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
Tester, a three-term incumbent, faced little opposition in the Democratic primary and won with more than 97 percent of the vote.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and businessman, also had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and handily won the Republican primary with 73.5% of the vote.
“It’s official: I will be running against Mitch McConnell’s choice, Tim Sheehy, for the Montana Senate seat.” Tester wrote on Tuesday night X“And I’m going to win.”
“My farm equipment has been in Montana longer than Tim Sheehy’s,” the 67-year-old senator said. quipped another post..
Despite his confidence, the Montana Democrat faces a tough reelection battle in the heavily Republican state.
Tester is the only Democrat in Montana’s congressional delegation.
The state has a Republican governor and Republicans control both houses of the state legislature.
Montana voters supported Trump by a 16.4 percentage point margin in the 2020 presidential election and by a 20.4 percentage point margin four years ago.
Tester’s previous general election victories have also been narrow.
In 2006, he was elected to the Senate by a margin of 0.9 percentage points. He did better in 2012, winning reelection by 3.7 percentage points, but took a slight step back in 2018, winning by just 3.5 percentage points.
“America is at a crossroads and we need a new generation of leaders to save the country.” Sheehy wrote to X After winning the primary election.
“I’m humbled and honored by all the support and look forward to finally retiring as a leading lobbyist funder and pro-Biden liberal #RetireTester,” the 37-year-old candidate added.
Tester holds a 5.5-point lead over Sheehy, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, but there are only a few polls in the race and none have been conducted since March.
Democrats currently hold a 51-49 advantage over Republicans in the Senate.
