Jon Tester is trying to hold onto a key U.S. Senate seat in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Three-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana may be facing election biggest challenge for re-election but on Tuesday, when control of the Senate is at stake in a state that has since swung significantly to the right 68-year-old grain farmer first choice.

Republicans have pinned their hopes on it Tim Sheehya former US Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company. Sheehy, 38, received early support from party leaders, including former President Donald Trumppaving the way for the political newcomer to victory in the June primary.

It's the first time Tester will receive the same ballot as Trump, who won twice in Montana by large margins.

Long lines were seen at polling places in Montana as a winter storm brought snow to some parts of the state.

A Sheehy victory would seal the Republican Party's dominance in the five-state Northern Plains region: Tester took office as one of six Democratic senators in the largely rural part of the American heartland, which also includes Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota belong. He's the only one now.

The lawmaker is also the only remaining Democrat holding statewide office in Montana.

The candidates and their allies broke political spending records, bombarding voters with nearly $300 million in advertising on television, on the radio, on their phones and in their mailboxes. The total spending for each active registered voter in Montana is expected to be about $500.

“This is the toughest race since Tester came along,” said political analyst Jeremy Johnson, “and Tim Sheehy is a really impressive candidate.”

In the final days of the race, Tester's campaign flooded Montana newspapers and broadcast stations with ads supporting the claims of a former park ranger, Sheehy lied about a gunshot wound in his arm.

Sheehy said during an interview with conservative pundit Megyn Kelly that the wound came from combat in Afghanistan and was not accidentally self-inflicted, as he told the Ranger in 2015. The Republican said Tester tried to smear him and other SEALs vouched for Sheehy's integrity, but he has not released any corroborating medical records.

Montana's political profile has changed dramatically since Tester was first elected in 2006. It has gone from a “purple” state that traditionally sent a mix of Democrats and Republicans to higher office to one where partisan divisions prevail and the GOP enjoys a supermajority in the state legislature.

Tester warned throughout the campaign about “outsiders” like Sheehy — who came to Montana in 2014 and bought a ranch — who were driving up real estate prices and limiting access to hunting and fishing for the general public.

“We see a lot of people coming into our state, rich people who want to try to buy our state and turn it into something it's not,” Tester said.

Tester, the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has built a reputation as a moderate during his 18 years in office. He has introduced legislation such as expanding health care for veterans and providing broadband to rural areas, and has sometimes opposed Democratic proposals to tighten rules for the energy industry.

But Tester also consistently voted with the Democrats on important legislative proposals, which meant he could no longer keep up with Montana's hardened conservatism.

In the small town of Columbus, Montana, 71-year-old John Hungerford said after casting his vote for Sheehy that Tester had not done enough to address his most important issues – immigration and inflation – and too often toed the Democratic line party followed.

“His election results are not indicative of the values ​​in Montana,” Hungerford said.

About a third of Montana voters said the economy and jobs were the country's biggest problems, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 110,000 voters across the country, including more than 1,000 voters in Montana. About a quarter of Montana voters said immigration was the most pressing issue, and about one in 10 cited abortion.

Sheehy tried Dent Tester's reputation for authenticity by highlighting more than $500,000 that lobbyists and their families donated to Tester this election cycle. Republicans alleged that the Democrat was receiving campaign donations from industries that needed his vote after lawmakers came under scrutiny over the donations Bank manager affected by a regulatory rollback in 2018 Lockheed Martin Employees who benefited from a 2021 defense bill.

There was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Tester. But Sheehy's tactics echoed Tester's 2006 upset over a three-term Republican incumbent who was embroiled in a lobbying scandal.

Sheehy also linked Tester to the perceived failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

“We have an economy that is in ruins. There are foreign policy crises all over the world that we cannot even hope to address immediately. It’s time for a change in leadership,” Sheehy said.

The Tester campaign's response was to remind voters of his longstanding advocacy in Congress for Montana's economically important agricultural industry.

Tester also tied his campaign to efforts to pass a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. It was part of an attempt to woo the independents and moderate Republicans whose support has kept Tester in office even as the state trended to the right.

Sandra Troy, 68, said abortion was her top concern when she voted for Tester because she believed the Democrat would help protect access to the procedure.

“The government should not interfere in our lives,” she said. “Tester, he chooses the people.”

Sheehy praised his military service and business experience, drawing parallels between his recent arrival in Montana and the early 20th century settlers who were resented by those who had arrived even earlier.

Sheehy brushed aside the questions asked of him known as a lobbyist And derogatory comments He taught his followers about Native Americans.

His campaign got a boost this summer from a rally with Trump in Bozeman, Montana. The rapidly growing university town could be crucial to which side wins.

Trump – who wears one personal grudge about Tester's derailment of Trump's Veterans Affairs nominee in 2018 – he made fun of Tester's physical appearance during the event.