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.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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