No. 3 Senate Republican endorses Tim Sheehy in Montana in attempt to consolidate support

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the third-ranking Senate Republican, endorsed Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy on Monday.

“Winning back the West, and winning back the Senate, starts and ends with Tim Sheehy,” Barrasso said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Tim Sheehy is ‘The Man in the Arena’. He is who you want on your side fighting for border, economic and energy security. Meanwhile, Jon Tester is fighting hardest for Joe Biden.”

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Barrasso’s endorsement appears to be an attempt to get Montana Republicans to coalesce behind Sheehy, who is seen as more centrist and a safer challenger against incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT). It is unclear whether Sheehy will have the Republican field to himself. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), a conservative who has previously been backed by the anti-tax Club for Growth and who lost to Tester in 2018, is also considering a run.

Rosendale has told several lawmakers that he plans to run for the GOP nomination, according to two sources familiar with the conversations. While Rosendale’s plans are unclear, it appears Senate GOP leaders are getting more aggressive in working to consolidate support and prevent a primary that could complicate Republican’s latest attempt to retake the Senate.

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who was considering a run for the Senate of his own, endorsed Sheehy last week.

“Tim Sheehy not only is a war hero, but he also represents the next generation of leadership,” Zinke said in an interview with Fox News. “He served this country, his wife is a Marine, he understands sacrifice, and he also understands success.”

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Republicans are eager for another opportunity to unseat Tester in a state that former President Donald Trump carried by more than 16 points in 2020. But Tester has proven an elusive target. Tester, as a state lawmaker in 2006, first won the Senate seat by beating an incumbent Republican senator. Tester then swatted away highly touted GOP challengers in 2012 and 2018.

Tester, the Senate’s only working farmer, has been successful in depicting his opponents as not true Montanans. In 2018, Tester’s campaign aggressively tried to brand the Baltimore-accented Rosendale as an outsider, blasting his Maryland roots and calling him “Maryland Matt.”