Global Courant
FIRST ON FOX: Tim Sheehy – businessman, firefighter pilot and former Navy SEAL – “answers the call to serve” at the official launch of a 2024 campaign for the US Senate in Montana.
The Republican officially announced his candidacy exclusively with Fox News Digital Tuesday calling for “a new generation of leadership” in his bid to unseat vulnerable incumbent Senator John Tester, D-Mont., in 2024.
“From inflation to our frontier to our deficit, America is ready for change. And I think it’s time for a new generation of leaders to step forward,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “Leaders who understand servant leadership, which means setting yourself the mission, and leaders who understand how to get results.”
“I think Americans feel underrepresented. They’re tired of a government that they don’t think is working for them,” the candidate said when asked why he decided to throw in his hat for the Democratic-held seat.
BLUE TO RED: FOUR SEA SEATS THAT REPUBLICANS CAN TURN FROM DEMOCRATS TO WIN MAJORITY IN 2024
Sheehy is running in one of the most-watched races of the 2024 cycle that could likely determine whether Republicans get a majority in the Senate — but shifting the focus away from political parties, Sheehy said that “one thing I learned in a foxhole in Afghanistan or the belly of a submarine, when the chips are down there’s really only one political party – and that’s the US.”
Senate candidate Tim Sheehy (Tim Sheehy for Senate campaign)
Before entering the political scene, Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific, where he was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and the Purple Heart Medal. In addition to owning several businesses, the veteran receiver shares four children with his Navy veteran wife, Carmen Sheehy.
FIGHTING CANADIAN WILD FIRES: SPECIAL AIRPLANE USED TO BOX FLAMES
“I joined the military right out of high school and did several broadcasts abroad,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital. “And after I got hurt, I started my business and created a lot of jobs here. And those jobs are all still serving this country, fighting wildfires and building critical protective equipment for our troops.”
Sheehy, who serves in the state of fellow former Navy SEAL Representative Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., noted that “we are in one of the lowest participation rates in Congress history for veterans. huge problem we want to bring back combat veterans and those who understand service to help fix this government and keep things running smoothly.
Established as CEO of Veteran Bridger Aviationa Montana-based company that builds aerial firefighting aircraft, Sheehy told how forest management and wildfire fighting in the US are currently “held back by bureaucracy.”
Tim Sheehy served as a Navy SEAL after the tragic events of 9/11. (Tim Sheehy for Senate campaign)
Sheehy suggested that rather than the federal government dictating land management with “environmental policies 2,000 miles away that put a chain and padlock around our resources and around our forests,” forest fire prevention decisions should be addressed locally, using “common sense land management policies” . that is rooted in local governance and business principles.”
FIGHT VETERAN MULLING MONTANA GOP SENATE PRAY CRITICAL DEMOCRATIC SEN. TESTER’S ‘FARTING ROUND’ NOTE
Along with founding Bridger Aerospace in 2014, which created more than 200 jobs in Montana, Sheehy helped grow Ascent Vision Technologies and owns Little Belt Cattle Company, a local beef production company.
“One thing I’ve done with my companies is create good, well-paying jobs here in the state,” Sheehy said. “These are not jobs that rely on foreign visitors or state revenue. These are jobs that exist here in our state and create careers in our state. And I think that’s a really important trajectory that we want to put our state economy.”
“Whether it’s our deficit, whether it’s the southern border, or our children’s education, Montanans don’t want more federal government in their lives every day,” the businessman told Fox that he hopes Montanans’ “common sense government that runs like a business”. .”
More Republicans have been elected in Montana with each election, and Tester remains the only Democrat with a statewide seat in the Big Sky State. residents of the state.
Tim Sheehy’s wife, with whom he shares four children, is a Marine veteran. (Tim Sheehy for Senate campaign)
“I actually don’t think Montana has gotten redder,” Sheehy said when asked if the state had turned red in previous elections. “I think the Democratic Party has left Montana. I think the people of Montana have always been socially conservative, hard-working people with a mindset of responsibility and ready to go.”
The senate candidate said Democrats and Tester, who announced re-election in February, “want more government, not less.”
“Democrats have made their blueprint for America incredibly clear during COVID, and that is more government, not less,” Sheehy told Fox. “Jon Tester has been in step with that vision all his life. And now I think it’s going to be hard for him to run from that path because it’s very clear.”
“Jon Tester has been in step with that vision all his life. And now I think it’s going to be hard for him to run from that path because it’s very clear,” Sheehy said of the vulnerable Democrat.
When asked about other potential Republican contenders launching a campaign, Sheehy said “we’ll have to see who throws their hat in.”
So far, no other Republican contenders have entered the Senate primary, but rumor has it that Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., seriously considering an offer.
Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., announces he is running for re-election in 2024. (Tom Williams)
“Montanans should know that I risked everything for this country. I was wounded in battle. I’ve led hundreds of missions and risked everything for all Americans, Republicans and Democrats,” the Republican said. candidate said.
“We have serious challenges as a nation and I think we need serious people who want to bring common sense solutions to actually move the country forward,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital. “I think Americans and Montanans, who are incredibly practical people, just want things done, and they want a leader who can actually bring common sense solutions to some of our serious problems.”
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for a second term in 2024, won Montana in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. Sheehy said that while he doesn’t know if the former president will run in the Montana Senate primary, the two “had one conversation a while ago that was very positive”.
“I think he’s going to support our campaign. I think he likes a profile like mine, but I’m not sure what he’s going to do,” the Republican said.
Tim Sheehy launched his Senate campaign on Tuesday. (Tim Sheehy for Senate campaign)
In a press release first obtained by Fox News Digital, Sheehy described his Democratic opponent Tester as “not representing our Montana values” and called for “a new generation of leadership to rebuild America.”
The Montanan described his “positive vision for the future of our country,” which included acting “against Jon Tester and the Democratic Party’s agenda for inflation, open borders, criminals over police, drugs and violence in our communities, and an awake culture affecting our classrooms and military bases,” the press release said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Jon Tester has been in office for nearly a quarter of a century and he has lost sight of our Montana values,” Sheehy said in his highly anticipated Senate announcement. “Like any good politician, Jon talks one way but votes another. Montanans have had enough of these career politicians who are full of empty promises and do not represent our Montana values. It is time for a new generation of leaders to make America again to build.”
Aubrie Spady is a freelance production assistant for Fox News Digital.
