Montana

‘So Confusing’: Montana GOP Senate Candidate Gives Shifting Explanations About Gunshot Wound

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2024

‘So Confusing’: Montana GOP Senate Candidate Gives Shifting Explanations About Gunshot Wound

Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy offered shifting explanations for a gunshot wound he’d sustained on his arm in a new interview on Friday — a controversy that has nagged his campaign against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana).

Last month, Kim Peach, a former U.S. Park Service ranger, came forward publicly and said that Sheehy accidentally shot himself with a gun on a family trip in 2015 at Glacier National Park in Montana — contradicting the former Navy SEAL’s campaign bio, which says he was “wounded in combat.”

Recently, Sheehy has claimed that he actually lied to the ranger in 2015, telling Peach that he’d accidentally shot himself, in order to conceal the fact that he may have obtained the bullet wound during a friendly-fire incident while deployed abroad.

Asked Friday if there were medical records to prove his story, Sheehy told former Fox News host Megyn Kelly there is “not an extensive medical record” from his emergency room hospital visit. He said he had “internal bleeding” after the bullet in his arm became dislodged after he fell while on a hike in the park.

“There’s not a whole lot to talk about,” Sheehy said, calling the story “a distraction.”

“So confusing,” Kelly responded during an interview with Sheehy on her SiriusXM radio program.

Sheehy has also offered contradictory explanations for who may have been responsible for the gunshot wound.

In his interview with Kelly on Friday, the 37-year-old GOP Senate hopeful suggested that he may have been shot by an Afghan ally in a friendly-fire incident. He called the environment at the time “messy” and described the challenges of operating alongside Afghan forces, saying it was “very, very common where you’d have Afghans who, either intentionally or unintentionally, would end up shooting friendly forces.”

“It was a hazardous environment when you’re dealing with actual hostile forces … but half the time, you’ve also gotta have one eyeball looking at our partner forces,” he added.

But in his 2023 memoir, Sheehy wrote he was “struck by a friendly fire ricochet bullet” by a fellow SEAL who he wanted to shield from repercussions.

“I didn’t want the teammate who had fired the shot, a total stud who went on to have a successful career as a SEAL, to be punished officially or reputationally ― by an accident that was in no way his fault,” Sheehy wrote in the book. “It wasn’t even a tough or dangerous mission; it was a milk run, just like this training flight, but it went bad quickly.”

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can’t do it without you.

Can’t afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can’t do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

When the Post asked Sheehy about that passage in his book in April, he said he was not certain whether he was shot by friendly fire or by whom, describing an incident where his team came under fire at night.

“To be very clear, I don’t know where the bullet came from,” Sheehy said. “Sometimes people find that hard to believe, but in Hollywood, they make it look like [in] a gunfight everyone knows exactly what’s going on. … That’s just not how it goes down.”

Meanwhile, the ranger, Peach, told The New York Times earlier this month he was “100 percent sure [Sheehy] shot himself that day” in 2015. He recalled unloading Sheehy’s gun at the time and “finding five live rounds and the casing of one that had been fired,” as the Times reported.

Republicans have dismissed the allegation on the basis that Peach has a history of supporting Democrats.

Polls show Sheehy leading Tester in a critical race that could determine which party controls the Senate next year. The three-term incumbent senator is trying to pull off an upset in a state Donald Trump won by 16 points in the 2020 election.

Source link

Click to comment

Montana

9K residents without power in Flathead Co.

Published

6 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

9K residents without power in Flathead Co.

KALISPELL, Mont. — Flathead Electric reports more than 9,000 customers in Flathead County are currently without power.

Officials say the outage is due to a transmission service disruption from Bonneville Power Administration.

Their outage map currently shows 9,700 outages.

The BPA outage is also affecting Lincoln Electric customers Eureka, Rexford and Trego. Close to 6,000 outages are reported on their outage map.

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

NBC Montana will continue following this story for updates.

Source link

Montana

Montana finalizes 2026 primary candidate list

Published

18 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Montana finalizes 2026 primary candidate list

HELENA, Mont. — Montana’s 2026 primary election ballot is taking shape after a busy candidate filing period that drew hundreds of hopefuls.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana election team finalized the list of candidates after 380 total candidates filed between Feb. 17 and March 4. Of those candidates, 19 withdrew from their races.

Six independent candidates are still waiting to qualify via petition before being added to the general election ballot.

The following was sent out by the Office of the Montana Secretary of State:

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the Montana Election Team have completed ballot certification for Montana’s 2026 Primary Election, finalizing the list of candidates who will appear before voters on Tuesday, June 2.

Pursuant to Montana law, county election administrators certify local candidates for the primary ballot in their respective counties, while the Secretary of State’s Office certifies the names and designations of statewide and state district candidates, including candidates for federal, legislative, and certain judicial offices.

The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) notified the Secretary of State’s Office and the county election administrators of any candidate(s) whose name(s) may not appear on the ballot pursuant to Montana law.

“The ballot certification process is a key step in ensuring Montana’s elections are accurate, secure, and transparent,” said Secretary Jacobsen. “I’m grateful to our state election officials and the county election administrators and their teams across the state for their hard work preparing for the 2026 Primary Election.”

A total of 380 candidates filed with the Secretary of State’s Office during the candidate filing period (Tuesday, February 17 – Wednesday, March 4). Several candidates withdrew from their respective races, while Independent candidates are pending petition requirements to qualify for the general election ballot.

Filings with the Secretary of State’s Office included:

United States Senator: Twelve total candidates filed for the office, though one withdrew and one is pending petition requirements. Five Democrats, three Republicans, and two Libertarians will appear on Montanans’ Primary Election ballots. One Independent candidate must meet Montana’s petition requirements.
United States Representative: Sixteen total filings in the 1st and 2nd Congressional races.
1st Congressional (MT-01) Ten candidates submitted paperwork for the Congressional seat – four Democrats, four Republicans, and one Libertarian. One Independent candidate must meet petition requirements. The incumbent did not file for re-election.
2nd Congressional (MT-02) Six candidates submitted filing paperwork, including the incumbent, who is the lone Republican to file for the race. Three Democrats and one Libertarian filed, while one Independent also submitted their paperwork for the race and is pending petition requirements.
Public Service Commission: Seven candidates will appear on the ballot for the two PSC seats.
PSC District 1: Two Republicans and one Democrat will appear before voters for the open seat.
PSC District 5: The incumbent is one of three Republicans to file for the seat, while one Democrat also filed.
Supreme Court Justice: Two candidates filed for the Supreme Court Justice No. 4 race – Judge Dan Wilson was the first to file for Montana’s high court, and Judge Amy Eddy followed suit later the same day.
District Court Judge: Thirteen candidates submitted filings, including several judges currently on the bench.
Legislature: The majority of candidate filings were for Legislative seats, where 329 total filings were submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office, nearly 130 of which came on the opening day.
Montana State Senate: Sixty-six candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election, including more than 10 incumbents.
Montana State House: A total of 235 candidates qualified for the 2026 Primary Election. Three Independent candidates are pending petition requirements. Dozens of incumbents filed for re-election.