Montana
Forget the VP debate. Montana’s Senate debate is more important
On Tuesday, Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will square off in New York for the only vice presidential debate of the election. Polling from Prolific exclusive to The Independent shows the debate has a chance to tip the scales.
But in truth, whoever wins the White House will not be able to do much if they do not control the Senate, which not only passes bills, but also ratifies treaties and most importantly confirms cabinet and judicial nominees.
That is why both Democrats and Republicans are pouring in money to determine Montana’s Senate race results. Senator Jon Tester, the Democratic incumbent who first won the seat in 2006, is running against Tim Sheehy, a retired Navy SEAL. Polling shows Democrats lead in Senate races with incumbents in Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada, as well as in open Senate races in Michigan and Arizona.
But Democrats faced a major blow when Senator Joe Manchin — the former Democrat-turned-independent Senator from West Virginia, a state where every county voted for Donald Trump — announced last year that he would not seek re-election, almost guaranteeing the seat would fall into Republican hands. That left Democrats with only 50 Senate seats, and few opportunities to flip seats save for longshot attempts in Florida and Texas, and turned the spotlight on Montana’s race.
On Monday evening, Tester and Sheehy traded barbs in a debate at the University of Montana at Missoula on everything from abortion to immigration to health care.
The debate focused heavily on reproductive rights given that Montanans will vote on a constitutional amendment that would codify abortion rights, which Tester said he would support.
“I believe women should be, should be able to make their own health care decision,” Tester. “It shouldn’t be the federal government. It shouldn’t be a bureaucrat. It shouldn’t be a judge. Women should be able to make their own health care decisions. That’s what Montanans like.”
Tester sought to criticize Sheehy for previously opposing the amendment being on the ballot. But Sheehy tried to pivot by saying that he supported exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother and trotted out a known lie, claiming that Tester and Democrats are extremists wanting abortion up until the moment of birth.
“When a baby is born alive, they refuse to enshrine protection for that life,” he said, a common talking point that former president Donald Trump has also made, which is not true and Tester called “total bunk.”
“It’s a lie. It doesn’t happen,” he said. “Those lives are already protected. Tim, you know it, you’re saying it to try to politicize this issue more than it already is.”
Republicans think they have a decent shot at winning the Montana race. Senator Steve Daines, Montana’s junior senator, serves as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and played a major role in clearing the field for Sheehy to avoid a bruising primary. In addition, the Cook Political Report recently changed the rating in Montana’s Senate race from “Toss-up” to “Lean Republican.”
Sheehy attacked Tester on immigration, which has become a top-of-mind issue for many voters, saying it contributed to the increasing cost of housing and sought to tie Tester to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tester in turn tried to hit Sheehy for opposing a bill that would have tightened restrictions at the US-Mexico border, though Sheehy noted he was not a senator at the time.
“They’ll point to a bill that maybe would have done something that didn’t pass, and have yet another messaging opportunity to distract from the issue that they selectively and intentionally opened the border, stood by and let it stay wide open for years,” Sheehy said.
Montana voted for Trump by double digits in 2016 and 2020. And Trump has frequently criticized Tester — who as the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committeee, sank Trump’s nominee to lead the department in 2018. In August, Trump traveled to Montana to hold a rally for Sheehy.
During his closing remarks, Sheehy pointed to Tester’s opposition to Trump.
“He also voted to impeach Donald Trump twice. [He] said on CNN, we should punch him in the face” Sheehy said.
Monday’s debate was likely the final direct match up between Tester and Sheehy. But while all eyes will be on the debate in New York, Big Sky Country might determine the fate of either Trump or Harris’s agenda.
Montana
Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.
This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.
The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.
“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.
Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.
According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.
One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.
At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.
In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.
Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.
ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.
Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.
We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.
The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.
Issues: Immigration
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