National Republicans scored a major recruitment victory on Tuesday as former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy made his entrance into the Montana Senate race to challenge vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
Sheehy, a Naval Academy graduate who was awarded both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star after being injured in Afghanistan, certainly looks like the perfect recruit on paper. We were the first outlet to report the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s interest in Sheehy back in early March.
But Sheehy likely will not have a clear path to the GOP nomination despite the backing of the Washington establishment. Politico reported last week that Rep. Matt Rosendale has been telling lawmakers he plans to enter the race after losing the general election to Tester in 2018 by 3.5 points.
Nonetheless, recruiting Sheehy into the race represents NRSC Chairman Steve Daines’ biggest achievement so far. Naturally, the race in Montana is personal for the state’s junior senator, and Sheehy has been the biggest prize on the recruitment map for a while now.
In a statement, Daines praised Sheehy’s decision,
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