The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, is denouncing what it believes is an effort to ‘meddle’ in the Republican primary in Montana by national Democrats.
A new super PAC called the Last Best Place PAC recently made a $134,000 ad buy to run Tuesday through Sept. 25, criticizing Montana Republican candidate Tim Sheehy over a PPP loan he received. According to reporting from Politico, the PAC was registered last week, and while it’s unclear who the sources of the fundraising are currently, it is likely connected to the Democratic Party.
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The ad, called “Shady Sheehy,” claims he is a multimillionaire who never paid back a $770,000 PPP loan.
“This multimillionaire got an over $770,000 government loan that he never paid back,” the narrator states. “Tim Sheehy got rich off government contracts and then walked away from his loan and now Sheehy’s campaign can spend millions to try to buy our Senate seat,” the ad continues.
Sheehy is a top Republican recruit eager to take on Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents this cycle. The NRSC is calling the new super PAC a front for the Democrats.
“This shady Schumer-Tester front group is meddling in the Montana Republican primary because they fear Tim Sheehy and know he is the strongest general election opponent,” NRSC Communications Director Mike Berg said. “It’s obvious that national Democrats have their preferred candidate that they want to see run and lose to Jon Tester again.”
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Republicans see Montana, where former President Donald Trump won by more than 16 percentage points in 2020, as a key pickup opportunity in 2024. Republicans, including NRSC Chairman Steve Daines (R-MT), are rallying around Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, to challenge the three-term Democratic senator. However, Sheehy may not be the only one running. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), who narrowly lost a challenge to Tester in 2018, has been considering a rematch.
National Republicans have made it clear their paths to retaking control in the Senate in 2024 rely on wins in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, four states with Democratic incumbents up for reelection. Democrats only control the Senate by a 51-49 margin, meaning Republicans only need to net two seats to win control.