Montana
Democratic senator refuses to endorse Kamala Harris: ‘Two reasons’
Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana gave two reasons as to why he won’t endorse a presidential candidate, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who is set to accept the party’s nomination tonight at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Tester, who faces a contentious battle for Montana’s Senate seat against Donald Trump-backed Republican Tim Sheehy, didn’t attend the four-day DNC in Chicago, Illinois. Instead, he opted to campaign in his home state. Tester is a three-term, moderate senator. His opponent, Sheehy, is a former Navy SEAL and an entrepreneur.
“I’m not going to endorse for the presidential and I will tell you why, because two reasons,” Tester said during a press conference in Hamilton, Montana on Thursday, according to The Independent Record of Helena.
“No. 1, I’m focused on my race. And No. 2, folks want to nationalize this race, and this isn’t about national politics, this is about Montana. It’s about making sure we have a Montanan back in Washington, D.C., representing Montana values. And so that’s why,” the local outlet reported.
He also reportedly said that he didn’t attend the DNC for “two reasons,” noting that he should be harvesting at his farm and because the rock band Pearl Jam “is kind enough to do a little concert…and I’d like to think they did it because I’m up for re-election.”
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The Cook Political Report marks Montana’s race as a “toss up,” and aggregate polls, such as The Hill show a close race, with Sheehy leading Tester by a 2-percentage point margin. Other individual polls have shown Tester leading at times.
Tester is the only Democratic member of the state’s congressional delegation. Trump won Montana in 2020 by 16 points.
Newsweek reached out to Tester’s campaign for comment and confirmation via email on Thursday night.
The Senate is currently controlled by Democrats, who hold 47 seats but four independents caucus with the party, giving them a 51-seat majority, while Republicans hold 49. November’s election could change control of the chamber, and Montana’s Senate race is being closely watched as a potential tipping point.
With the GOP widely expected to flip the West Virginia seat held by outgoing independent Senator Joe Manchin, the results of the presidential election between Trump and Harris and the outcome of the Montana Senate race could be deciding factors for how the next Congress operates.
The presidential race is also neck-and-neck with several aggregate polls showing Harris leading in the national vote but in a deadlock with former President Trump in battleground states.
However, the popular vote does not necessarily translate to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to clinch the White House.
State polls, especially swing and battleground states, are often more reflective of how a candidate might secure the necessary votes to win the White House.
Follow Newsweek‘s live DNC blog for updates here.
Update 8/22/24 at 9:25 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional context.
Montana
Injured Montana man survives on creek water for 5 days after motorcycle crash on mountain road
Spending time on the water is a great way to beat the summer heat, but these activities have led to injuries and fatalities in Montana this summer.
Summertime in Montana is water recreation time for many, whether it’s driving a boat or paddling a craft, people take to the water this time of year. Sadly, some of them are injured or die because they didn’t follow simple safety procedures.
“Unfortunately, this year here in Montana there have been several human fatalities in connection with water recreation. Some of those are boating accidents, some them have taken place on rivers, or with non-motorized watercraft, its been kind of a mix,” Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Morgan Jacobsen said. “But one of the common problems that are involved with this are people just not wearing life jackets when they needed one.”
Jacobsen says the coloration between the type of craft you use to hit the water and injury or death is pretty clear.
“About 75% of human fatalities happen on something like a canoe, a kayak or a paddleboard because there’s a pretty good risk of you winding up in the water that way,” Jacobsen said. “That being said the majority of injuries happen with motorized watercraft.”
Jacobsen also notes that most, if not all, fatalities and injuries on Montana’s waterways are preventable by just following a couple simple tips.
“A couple of things that people can do to protect themselves are wear a lifejacket, you can take advantage of life jacket loaner equipment like this one. The other thing is not boating under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol and water recreation do not mix very well when it comes to human safety.”
The rules are simple: each watercraft must have an approved life jacket for every person aboard, and those 11 years old and younger, must wear a lifejacket at all times.
Search-and-rescue crews continued to comb the verdant hills, mountains and valleys of Glacier National Park on Wednesday for an experienced climber reported missing Sunday.
The missing man was identified as Grant Marcuccio, 32, from the small city of Whitefish, Montana, less than 30 miles west of the park, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday.
He left his hiking group while it was traveling on foot from Heavens Peak to McPartland Peak — both are higher than 8,000 feet — and he did not appear at a rendezvous spot, it said.
He had planned to summit both peaks, the park service said.
“He was last seen heading toward McPartland,” the National Park Service said.
Marcuccio was reported missing Sunday night, it said.
It was not clear what could have taken Marcuccio off course. National Weather Service data shows Glacier National Park enjoying a temperature range from lows in the low 50s to highs in the 80s, with light winds and a trace of precipitation measured at times since Sunday.
The search has included park rangers, other search-and-rescue crews, overflights by private search-and-rescue contractor Two Bear Air Rescue and a U.S. Forest Service helicopter crew, the park service said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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