NEW: Tim Sheehy’s Primary Opponents Slam His Candidacy Ahead of Filing Deadline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 11, 2024
CONTACT
New reporting reveals fissures in the Montana Republican Party as Sheehy gets trashed by his primary opponents and the Flathead Republicans
Helena, MT – Ahead of the Montana candidate filing deadline, Transplant Tim Sheehy is being slammed by his Republican primary opponents. New reporting from the Daily Inter Lake revealed the deep chasm among Republicans who resent the “heavy tactics of Mitch McConnel [sic] and Steve Daines” – they have serious concerns about consolidating around Sheehy after the NRSC’s aggressive maneuvering.
The reporting also pointed out how little Montanans know about Sheehy’s policy positions as he refused to make himself available for an interview.
Read more below.
Daily Inter Lake: Flathead Republicans not completely sold on perceived frontrunner Sheehy
By Kate Heston
March 10, 2024
“Overall, across the state, what people are communicating to me is that it's still a mixed message. [Some people] are saying, look, we need to consolidate behind Mr. Sheehy in order to go into the general election unified,” said Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chair Al Olszewski. "There is another group of people, of which I'm one, that says, look, Mr. Sheehy still hasn't inspired us.”
Olszewski said he leaned toward throwing his support behind Brad Johnson, a former Montana Secretary of State, past member of the Public Service Commission and one of two Republican challengers left facing Sheehy.
Olszewski’s shift toward Johnson came after Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale withdrew from the race. Rosendale’s sudden departure forced voters and political insiders to weigh their options, and Sheehy is not always the top choice, Olszewski said.
[Bridger Aerospace] relies heavily on federal contracts — they accounted for about 96% of its total revenue in 2022, according to a March 2023 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — has already emerged as a point of criticism in the Senate race.
Rep. Steve Gunderson, a member of the Montana Freedom Caucus, where a majority of folks supported Rosendale’s bid, declined to offer support to one candidate. He planned to hold out until after the primary, as things always “shake [themselves] out.”
Brad Johnson, a Helena resident, said he is running to give Republicans an option not handpicked by the Republican establishment.
He described Sheehy’s recruitment as backroom politics and criticized him for not representing the average Montanan.
“I am not the only one who resents the heavy tactics of Mitch McConnel and Steve Daines,” Johnson said. “I think that really this is an insight into the McConnell, Daines strategy which is to buy a senate seat in Montana that they can control.”
The problem is that Montanans have not heard much from Sheehy himself on anything, Johnson said.
Sheehy’s campaign declined an interview this week to discuss his positions and campaign strategy[.]
###
