In 2006, Montana voters sent a third-generation, seven-fingered farmer— he lost three fingers on his left hand in a meat-grinding incident — to the U.S. Senate, choosing the burly and jovial Democrat over incumbent Republican Conrad Burns, who was known for funneling millions of dollars into the state.
Both then and now, Tester appeals to many Montanans’ sense of independence: He isn’t afraid to cross party lines, he has a libertarian streak, he sponsored legislation taking Northern Rockies wolves off the endangered species list and is a gun-owner who refuses to support an assault weapons ban. This independence, along with the Native vote, support from the hook-and-bullet crowd and his own down-home style, exemplified by his signature crew cut, helped him defeat Republican challengers in 2012 and 2018.
This year — in the contest likely to determine control of the Senate — Tester faced Republican businessman Tim Sheehy. In past elections, Sheehy might not have stood a chance. A political rookie and a relative newcomer to the state, he has been caught fabricating stories about a bullet wound, his aerial firefighting business is struggling, he’s made racist statements about Indigenous people and says young women have been “indoctrinated” on abortion, and he is being bankrolled by Wall Street dark money. He has even expressed support for transferring ownership of federal public lands. That alone used to be a death knell in Montana politics, yet in the weeks leading up to the election, it was Tester who fell behind in the polls.
