Democratic incumbent Jon Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy have both easily won their respective primary elections in the race for U.S. Senate in Montana this year, according to the Associated Press.
With 55% of ballots counted as of 10:20 p.m. Tuesday evening, Tester, who is running for his fourth term, defeated Michael Hummert in the Democratic primary with 97% of the vote. And with 52% of votes counted in the GOP Senate primary, Sheehy, a Gallatin County businessman, had defeated former Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson in the Republican primary with 74% of the vote. Helena environmental consultant Charles Walkingchild had received just 7.5% of the vote and was in third place.
“It’s official. I’m facing off against Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate Tim Sheehy for Montana’s U.S. Senate Seat,” Tester said on social media. “And I’m going to win.”
In his statement, Sheehy sought to tie Tester to Democratic President Joe Biden, who is also up for re-election this year against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“America is at a crossroads and we need a new generation of leaders to save our country,” Sheehy said in a statement after the race was called. “Joe Biden and Jon Tester’s reckless agenda has brought us skyrocketing food, housing, and energy prices and an open border allowing illegal immigrants, drugs, and crime to flood into our country.”
Both Tester and Sheehy have largely ignored their primary challengers this election season, instead focusing their fire on each other in preparation for a general election that could determine partisan control of the U.S. Senate. Hummert presented himself as an outsider and “realist liberal Democrat,” while Johnson campaigned as a grassroots alternative to a candidate — Sheehy — he says was selected by national interests to run for Senate without input from everyday Montanans. Sheehy was widely expected to face a primary challenge from hardline Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale, but Rosendale aborted his campaign shortly after former President Trump endorsed Sheehy earlier this year.
Helena resident Michael Downey led Billings resident Robert Barb by about 100 votes in the Green Party Senate primary as of Tuesday evening at 10:20, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s office. Libertarian Sid Daoud, a Kalispell City Council member, does not have a primary competitor and will advance to the general election.
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