Republican Tim Sheehy has unseated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana’s 2024 Senate race, The Associated Press projects, marking a significant victory for Republicans in this election cycle.
The Montana Senate seat was identified as Republicans’ clearest path to retaking the Senate majority, as polling predicted that Sheehy would overtake Tester. In turn, the race proved to be one of this year’s priciest. According to Fox News, $309 had been spent on each voter by late October — adding up to $243.3 million.
By the time Sheehy was declared the winner on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Republicans had already secured the Senate majority for the upcoming 119th Congress after an upset victory in Ohio that unseated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Tester, 68, has represented Montana in the Senate since 2006, when he flipped the seat blue for the first time since 1988. He has served on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and he was previously the president of the Montana state Senate.
A farmer and former music teacher, Tester has received generally positive approval ratings throughout his time in the Senate, but heightened national partisanship made his seat more difficult to defend this time around in a deeply conservative state.
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Tester had been reportedly considering retiring from politics, but announced in February 2023 that he would run for reelection, as per Politico. He has voiced support for protecting women’s reproductive freedoms and has been ranked one of the most effective lawmakers in Washington, D.C., according to The Center for Effective Lawmaking.
Less popular in Montana, though, was his vote to convict Donald Trump, 78, during both of the former president’s impeachment trials. He declined to endorse Kamala Harris for president in 2024, Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
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Sheehy, 38, proved a strong candidate for the Republican Party when he secured the nomination in June.
A Minnesota-born veteran and businessman, Sheehy touted on the campaign trial that he “built one of the largest aerial firefighting companies in America” and “started a veteran-led cattle ranching and feeding operation.”
The father of four ran as an anti-choice candidate, but says he supports IVF. He earned Trump’s endorsement.
