Montana
Montana Senate race shatters spending records at $309 per registered voter
The 2024 Montana Senate race has shattered spending records with $309 spent per registered voter, a Fox News Digital breakdown of election finance records found.
All eyes are on Montana this cycle, and whether Democratic Sen. Jon Tester can survive his re-election bid against Republican challenger Tim Sheehy in a red state won by former President Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Tester has outspent his Republican opponent this cycle, spending $69.6 million with about $7.4 million cash on hand, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from September.
Filings show Sheehy, a Navy SEAL and first-time Senate candidate, reported spending about $19.7 million during the same period this cycle.
MONTANA SENATE RACE, WHICH COULD DETERMINE MAJORITY, SEEING ‘INTENSE GROUND GAME OPERATION’: NRSC CHAIRMAN
Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, left, and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., listen as former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University Aug. 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (Michael Ciaglo)
Super PACs and outside groups have played a significant role in Montana advertising as Democrats pour money into a state where their majority in the Senate hangs in the balance.
Outside spending on the race totals about $154 million, according to a Fox News Digital review of FEC filings. Breaking down the numbers per candidate, outside groups spent about $61.1 million against Tester, while $15.8 million was dropped in support of his re-election bid.
Sheehy has faced $59.5 million in spending against his campaign, while $17.7 million was spent to help him unseat the three-term Democrat.
Total spending on the campaign, including contributions from outside groups, has reached approximately $243.3 million to date. There are 786,365 registered voters in Montana, according to the Montana Secretary of State, meaning the average spent per vote on the Senate race is about $309 per registered voter.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester prepares to debate GOP challenger Tim Sheehy on campus at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont., Sept. 30, 2024. (The Missoulian via AP)
The race has seen a massive influx of funding from prominent billionaires such as George Soros and the Koch brothers, who founded and fund Americans for Prosperity Action. Other players in Montana include a $29 million investment from the Last Best Place PAC, $20 million from the Senate Leadership Fund and a $20 million investment from American Crossroads.
Other prominent Senate races have seen more spending this cycle, but their higher populations disperse the funds more widely on a per-voter basis.
For example, more than $363 million has been spent on the Ohio Senate race this cycle, but with 8,159,880 registered voters, per the secretary of state’s office, the spending amounts to about $44 per registered voter.
If the equivalent amount of money spent per registered voter in Montana was applied to the Senate race in Ohio, it would total over $2.5 billion.
Senators Jon Tester, D-Mont., left, and Steve Daines, R-Mont., film a message outside Dirksen Building on the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine April 27, 2021. (Tom Williams)
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, told Fox News Digital the spending is a reflection of the national implications of the race.
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“On a per capita basis, Montana is in its league because we only have a little over a million people. And so we have a lesser populated state with spending numbers that are equivalent to other large races in states like Michigan, like Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada,” Daines told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
“I think it highlights the importance of Montana because Tim Sheehy’s victory is the 51st seat for the United States Senate. This is what secures the majority for the Republicans and takes the gavel out of Chuck Schumer’s hands. And that’s why there’s so much focused attention on this race.”
Despite being outspent, the latest polling from The New York Times shows Sheehy leading Tester by eight points.
ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.
The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.
Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.
A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.
Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.
Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.
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.
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