We’re bringing you coverage of all the major political races this year.
Wearing a suit with no tie and casually slicked back hair, Tim Sheehy addressed the elephant in the room at the Montana GOP’s winter kickoff dinner in February.
“I’ve been criticized by a lot of people, some in this room, that ‘who the hell is this guy? He’s never been in office before, what does he think he’s doing running for Senate? And that’s a fair criticism, I wake up everyday wondering, ‘what the hell am I doing?” Sheehy said.
The presumed Republican frontrunner in Montana’s U.S. Senate race is a new face in politics. He lives in the Gallatin Valley with his wife Carmen, and their four children.
He’s a former Navy Seal and was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart Medal. Sheehy originally from Minnesota but moved to Montana in 2014 and has founded two companies focused on aerial firefighting and drone technology.
In 2020, he bought land along the Little Belt Mountains and started a 20,000 acre cattle ranch with two partners.
His latest venture is taking on incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. He told Republicans at the kickoff dinner he’ll need broad support to win.
“To sum it up, I’m here because I love this country, I fought for this country, I’ve lost friends for this country, my wife fought for this country. Our country is in great peril. We are at a crossroads of the nation,” Sheehy said.
Tim Sheehy, a former Navy Seal and multi-millionaire business owner from Bozeman, has GOP establishment support.
But now, he must convince Montanans he’s the right person for the job.
Sheehy is one of three Republicans in his party’s primary race for the Senate. But party leaders are backing Sheehy and his campaign coffers are by far the richest.
The general election stakes include the political balance of the United States Senate and the chance for Republicans to control all statewide offices in Montana.
Sheehy is backed by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s son, Don Trump Jr., rallied for Sheehy and other Republican candidates at a recent fundraiser. He said Sheehy is the best shot the party has at taking control of the U.S. Senate.
“If we don’t do it now, it’s a decade til we even have a chance. Meaning a chance where there’s like a red state with a blue state senator in it that’s up for election that we can actually make gains, for a decade,” Trump, Jr.
Sheehy says he decided to get into politics after the Biden Administration’s final withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in Taliban rule and the killing of 13 U.S. service members and 180 Afghans. The Biden White House has said it was constrained by the previous administration and blamed Trump for the chaotic withdrawal.
“We gave up our 20s to fight for this country. And Biden literally washed it all away, and didn’t even say sorry for it, just walked away,” Sheehy said. “And I knew right then that I had to get involved. It was kind of as a surrogate speaker and donor at first, and then some folks said, hey, we think you might be a good candidate, and that’s why we’re here.”
Sheehy says his lack of political experience is a strength. If Sheehy wins, he'll be a freshman in the Senate taking the seat of a 17-year senator who chairs Senate veteran affairs and the appropriations defense subcommittee.
“People decry every single day career politicians, people who go into government for their entire life – 50 years, 30 year, 40 years, whatever it is – and yet when someone new comes along to try to bring a fresh face and fresh set of ideas, they’re immediately attacked and disparaged. And I think there’s a lot of hypocrisy there,” Sheehy said.
Sheehy’s ideas for Congress include cutting the federal budget by shrinking the executive branch. He says the U.S. Departments of Education and Homeland Security could be eliminated, arguing they add bureaucracy for services states and local communities should provide.
“We have a blended homeschool model with our kids, you know, they go to a co-op with other faith-based, ag families. It’s like, we don’t have the federal government giving us a handbook saying teach your children this. We don’t need that,” Sheehy said.
Sheehy says that could work for other communities.
Sheehy has called for the U.S. to complete Trump’s wall at the southern border, saying it needs to be sealed to prevent illegal immigration. He’s also been critical of the passage of a $95 billion foreign aid package that a majority of Republican senators supported. He says the U.S. has stretched itself too thin in its foreign policy.
While Sheehy has the party’s top brass by his side, he still has to convince Montanans, including some Republicans, he’s right for the job.
Nathaniel Palmer is a conservative-leaning voter and U.S. Army veteran from Billings. He says he’s dissatisfied with Tester’s work.
“So, somebody new would probably be better. The issue is, I don’t know much about the other person to say I support them. I know that they say they’re a vet and everything, but that doesn’t mean a lot to me, cause you can say, well I’m a nice person, and be completely not. So it’s like actions are what really dictate, and I unfortunately don’t know that person very well,” Palmer said.
Sheehy is at a disadvantage in name recognition, and faces other hurdles, too.
The Washington Post first reported that Sheehy was cited in 2015 for accidentally discharging a firearm in Glacier National Park. The story raised questions about where a bullet lodged in Sheehy’s forearm came from. Sheehy says it is an undisclosed relic from his days in active combat and he lied to a park ranger about getting shot in Glacier by a gun falling out of his vehicle. Sheehy says he was trying to protect his platoon mates from an investigation.
Sheehy went to the hospital on the day of the Glacier Park incident. His timeline of events is inconsistent with the park ranger’s. However, he’s declined to release his medical records that may show whether the bullet wound was old or new.
He says he shouldn’t have to release medical records if Tester doesn’t.
“It’s pretty ridiculous that after serving my country and being wounded overseas, I’m being forced to present medical records – I ran and got an x-ray to prove to the Washington Post after they were trying to convict me in the court of public opinion that I was fake veteran of stolen valor. So I think it’s pretty insulting and ridiculous,” Sheehy said.
The Washington Post reported the x-ray was inconclusive in determining when the injury occurred. Sheehy’s Bronze Star and Purple Heart are unrelated to the injury and not in question. Questions about the bullet wound did not arise until the National Park Service citation was published.
Aside from making headlines over the bullet wound, Sheehy has faced some distrust within his own party.
That includes Al Olszewski, a surgeon and former state legislator who chairs the Flathead County Republican Central Committee. He posted a video to Facebook with a “call to action” after party leaders backed Sheehy in the Senate race instead of Congressman Matt Rosendale, who has since dropped out.
“Respectfully decline and oppose our party bosses and our rulers who are continuing to shove down our throats their demands and their pet candidates,” Olszewski said.
The GOP primary also includes former Secretary of State and Public Service Commissioner Brad Johnson. Johnson has raised a fraction of Sheehy’s warchest, and has been left out of party functions rallying for candidates.
When he announced his candidacy, Johnson said it’s a David versus Goliath-type competition. He said he believes Sheehy is getting party support for one reason .
“It had nothing to do with policy, or experience, or electability – it had to do with money. And that to me is at the root of the problem we have with the system today,” Johnson said.
Despite Sheehy’s ability to contribute some of his own wealth to his campaign, Johnson is still optimistic.
“But I think the people of Montana are going to see through that and I think when they understand the choice is between a Montanan with deep roots and real experience and a real commitment to this state and a newcomer who’s decided he wants to start his political involvement at the top of the mountain – they’re going to see the difference and I think we’re going to prevail,” Johnson said.
Republican Charles Walking Child, an environmental consultant in Helena, is also running in the primary and has yet to report any fundraising. Libertarian Sid Daoud is uncontested in his primary, guaranteeing his ticket to the general election in November.
Those that advance to the general election will face the well financed incumbent. Sheehy is leading the GOP candidates in fundraising but is still being outraised by Tester by about five to one.
The race could determine just how far Montana’s growing support for GOP candidates goes.
