FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS — In the first debate of Montana’s high-profile U.S. Senate race, Republican challenger Tim Sheehy Sunday repeatedly portrayed America as a country ravaged by problems enabled by Democrats and said he’s part of “new leadership” that can fix things.
“Americans, they don’t have confidence in their government anymore,” he said. “They want to have common sense back. … They want cheap gas, safe streets, boys are boys, girls are girls.”
His opponent, three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, said he’s the real Montanan who understands rural America and has used his influence to help the state, and that it’s wealthy outsiders like Sheehy who are making Montana unaffordable and less livable for the average person.
“We’re seeing a lot of folks come into the state, rich folks, who want to try to buy our state, try to change it into something it’s not,” he said at the debate hosted by the Montana Broadcasters Association at Fairmont Hot Springs near Anaconda. “I’m running for the United States Senate … to keep the Montana that we all know and love.”
Sheehy grew up in Minnesota and moved to Montana 10 years ago.
Both men won their respective primary contests last week, setting up a long-anticipated showdown that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Democrats hold a 51-49 edge in the chamber, but are expected to lose a seat in West Virginia this fall, meaning that a loss of any other Democrat-held seat — such as Tester’s — would hand majority control of the Senate to Republicans for the 2025 Congress.
Both sides have been pouring money into what’s expected to be a $200 million race, shattering state spending records for a single political contest and flooding the airwaves with advertisements.
Libertarian Sid Daoud and Green Party candidate Michael Downey also are on the November ballot for the Montana U.S. Senate contest.
Tester, a farmer from Big Sandy, and Sheehy, a U.S. Navy veteran and owner of Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting company in Belgrade, debated for an hour Sunday morning, fielding questions from a panel of four broadcast journalists. The debate was broadcast live on Montana Public Television and will be aired later on various broadcast outlets across the state.
The two men tackled questions on everything from immigration to affordable housing to U.S. defense policy, sometimes agreeing but often not.
Perhaps the sharpest exchange came on abortion, with Tester giving a full-throated defense of women’s right to decide the issue for themselves without government interference.
“This is a decision that should be made by the woman and her family, in consultation with her minister and her doctor,” he said. “This freedom is on the line this election.”
Sheehy said “the vast majority” of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions “up to and including the moment of birth,” which he said Tester and Democrats have voted for.
“That’s barbaric. That’s what China and North Korea do for population control,” Sheehy said. “At some point, the life of the baby does matter.”
“For you to say that we’re killing babies at 40 weeks [of pregnancy] is total B.S.,” Tester shot back. “Nobody’s talking about taxpayer payment for abortions. What we’re talking about is who makes the decision.
“Do you want a politician, or a bureaucrat or a judge to make the decision? If you do, vote for him,” Tester concluded. “If you want the woman to make the decision, vote for me.”
Sheehy frequently attacked the Biden administration and Democrats in Washington, accusing them of causing higher inflation, higher energy prices, a decline in military readiness and a huge influx of illegal immigrants at the southern border.
Tester has supported Biden’s agenda “95% of the time,” Sheehy said.
“Right now, Democrat control of the White House and the Senate has left our nation in the worst position it’s been in for 40 years,” Sheehy said.
Tester sometimes criticized the Biden administration as well, saying it had mostly ignored his advice on regulations that would harm coal development in the state.
