Trump-endorsed Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy wins Republican nomination in Montana Senate race to unseat Jon Tester

Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy has won the Republican nomination in a field of three candidates in the highly anticipated Montana Senate race to unseat the red state’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

Sheehy secured the nomination during Tuesday’s primary, after strong support from conservative leadership in Congress made him the GOP pick to take on the three-term Democrat. 

“America is at a crossroads and we need a new generation of leaders to save our country. 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,” Sheehy said in a statement after the race was called. 

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Republican Montana Senate candidate and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy. (Tim Sheehy For Montana)

“As a Navy SEAL, I’ve always put country before self and I’m running for the U.S. Senate to end Joe Biden and Jon Tester’s inflation, seal our border, secure our children’s future, and put America First! I am humbled and honored by all the support and look forward to finally retiring the #1 recipient of lobbyist cash and pro-Biden liberal Jon Tester,” he continued.

The Navy SEAL defeated Montana’s former Secretary of State Brad Johnson in the primary race.

The conservative, a Purple Heart recipient, was also endorsed by GOP presidential nominee and former President Trump, who said he is an “American hero.”

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“I LOVE MONTANA!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account. “Tim Sheehy is an American Hero and highly successful Businessman from the Great State of Montana. He is strongly supported by our incredible Chairman of the NRSC, Steve Daines, and many other patriotic Senators and Republicans who have endorsed our Campaign to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Sen. Jon Tester asks questions during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Republicans are eyeing the Big Sky State as one of their best chances at taking back control of the Senate, as Democrat Tester attempts to hold onto his seat in the red state for a fourth term. 

Tester paints himself as a moderate in the Senate, but Sheehy has charged that he changes his positions in election years.

“You know this is what he does. Five years out of every six he’s a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, firm progressive. Votes lockstep with Schumer, Biden and every other progressive in the country,” Sheey told Fox in November. “And then, for his election year, he tries to shift back to the center and act like he’s a moderate.” 

Tim Sheehy, founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace, in Bozeman, Montana, on Jan. 18, 2024. (Louise Johns/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sheehy quickly became the Senate Republicans’ choice to take on Tester on the November ballot, receiving endorsements from Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

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The Navy SEAL was also endorsed by Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.