Tim Sheehy Enters 2024 a Bruised, Embattled Candidate With Glaring Weaknesses
SUBJECT: Tim Sheehy Enters 2024 a Bruised, Embattled Candidate With Glaring Weaknesses
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Hannah Rehm, Senior Communications Advisor for the MontanaDemocratic Party
Six months after Tim Sheehy’s entrance into the U.S. Senate race, one thing has become exceedingly clear: Tim Sheehy did not turn out to be the top-tier recruit the NRSC claimed he would be.
Sheehy’s failure to launch has been driven by his astounding admissions of his own toxic policy proposals – like transferring federal public lands and calling for the “pure privatization” of health care – and major unforced campaign blunders. That, combined with existing vulnerabilities like Sheehy’s very recent move to Montana and conflicts of interest with his government contract-fundedcompany, has left Montana Republicans unconvinced that Sheehy should be their nominee. Local Republicans across the state have repeatedly voiced their dissatisfaction with Sheehy and hope that Rosendale will jump in the race – pointing to a long, bruising primary, and also emphasizing the NRSC’s costly misread of Montana’s primary electorate.
TIM SHEEHY’S BIO VULNERABILITIES
Sheehy had clear bio vulnerabilities before he even jumped into the race. Most glaringly, he moved to Montana recently – something that “create[s] headacheswhen running for public office in Big Sky Country.” Sheehy, who bought several luxury properties across the state upon moving here, embodies exactly the type of ultrarich newcomer that Montanans are frustrated with as their own cost of living skyrockets and families get priced out of their homes.
Sheehy also got rich off of government contracts – a detail that doesn’t play well with GOP primary voters, and presents an enormous conflict of interest as he campaigns for a job that would oversee that very funding. His taxpayer-funded company, Bridger Aerospace, gets tens of millions of dollars from government contracts, and Sheehy has a history of using his personal relationships in Washington to secure federal favors for his business and himself.
Wall Street Journal: Montana Has Had It With Rich Outsiders. Will That Help Jon Tester Win Re-Election? “[Montanans] are fed up with monied outsiders streaming into the state and blame them for driving up prices, taking land and eroding Montana’s rugged culture.”
NBC News: Montana GOP Senate candidate keeps his CEO job — but his company won’t say how he avoids conflicts “It’s unclear how Sheehy balances his various jobs and duties with the demands of a Senate candidate in a key state [...] It’s also not clear what permission he’s received from the company to use its images and property in his ads.
Bloomberg Gov: Key GOP Senate Recruit Seeks Job Overseeing His Largest Customer “Candidate Tim Sheehy runs a company that gets most of its money from federal government contracts, presenting potential conflict-of-interest questions that US Senate hopefuls usually don’t face.”
Daily Beast: This Top GOP Recruit Has a Swampy Connection to a Trumpy Rep “Sheehy and his family have donated nearly $50,000 to Zinke’s campaigns since last January, all while Zinke has pushed legislation that would benefit Bridger.”
Business Insider: GOP Senate candidate plans to steer book sale money to a group that lobbies for his industry, teeing up potential conflict of interest “If Sheehy's campaign chooses to promote the book when it's released, that would mean using campaign resources to raise money for a lobbying organization that benefits Sheehy's bottom line.”
The Messenger: Montana Senate Candidate’s Company Is Tightly Intertwined with His Campaign “The travels of a plane registered to his company mirrored his fundraising itinerary.”
American Independent: Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy decries lobbyist money, takes $42,000 from lobbyists “Sheehy’s first campaign finance disclosure filing reveals that his campaign has already received tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists.”
Business Insider: Montana GOP Senate candidate would be in the top 10 richest lawmakers — and his investments are sure to irk some conservatives “The financial disclosure reveals that Sheehy — despite talking tough on China as a candidate — was invested in the Chinese entertainment and technology conglomerate Tencent.”
HuffPost: 'Tough On China' GOP Senate Candidate Sold Off Chinese-Tied Stocks “Sheehy invested in a Chinese technology corporation and several companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, including some that the U.S. has identified as threats to national security.”
MONTANA REPUBLICANS AREN’T HAVING IT
Sheehy has a complete lack of buy-in from the people he most needs to win over: Montana Republicans. State legislators – including legislative leadership and members of the Montana Freedom Caucus – endorsed Rosendale for Senate. After the NRSC attacked Matt Rosendale, Montana Republicans were quick to call out Sheehy for being a Mitch McConnell yes-man, and local partieshave declined to go all-in for Tim.
Helena Independent Record: 37 GOP state legislators, including leadership, call on Rosendale for Senate
Daily Caller: KOOPMAN: The GOP Establishment Is Doing Its Best To Lose A Winnable Senate Race
NonStop Local: Rosendale at odds with GOP establishment after fiery statements from the NRSC
The Montana Libertarian Party has repeatedly criticized Tim Sheehy, and invited Montana Republicans upset by their options to join the “Liberty wing.”
SHEEHY’S TOXIC POLICY PROPOSALS
Sheehy has rapidly demonstrated how little he actually knows about Montanaas he hits the campaign trail, voicing extreme, toxic policy proposals that are deeply unpopular in the state. Sheehy called to transfer public lands to the state, a stance widely known to make it easier to sell off those lands to private interests and wealthy newcomers like him. Sheehy later advocated for the “pure privatization” of the U.S. health care system, which would dismantle Medicare, shutter Montana’s rural hospitals, and overturn the Affordable Care Act. And he’s tried to paper over his former policy positions that he thinks could hurt him in a GOP primary.
HuffPost: Montana GOP Senate Candidate Embraces A Toxic Position On Public Lands Sheehy said “‘local control [of public lands] has to be returned’ [...] ‘This is not like an issue that is on the margin for Montanavoters. They are very clearly against transferring or selling off public lands.’
Semafor: Republican Senate frontrunner in Montana calls for returning ‘healthcare to pure privatization’ “‘In my opinion we need to return healthcare to pure privatization,’ [Sheehy] said.
Daily Beast: GOP Senate Candidates Who Want You to Forget About Their Past Trump Criticism
National Journal: Republicans face ESG conundrum
Jewish Insider: Top GOP Senate recruit in Montana shies away from past support for Ukraine
UNFORCED CAMPAIGN BLUNDERS
Sheehy has also proven he’s not ready for prime time with a series of unforced campaign blunders, a warning sign to voters and the Republican establishment alike. Sheehy was caught trying to cover up his previous climate change positions by deleting them off his website, and embarrassingly asserted on a radio show that there are “more bears than people” in Montana (he overshot the bear population by roughly one million). The mistakes keep adding up:
Daily Montanan: Senate candidate Tim Sheehy falsely states more bears than people in Montana “Experts in the state said Sheehy’s bear comment was wildly off the mark.”
Daily Beast: He’s Running for Senate as a Montana Rancher. He’s Skipped Out on the Rancher Taxes “Tim Sheehy hasn't registered his cattle or farm animals in years with the state [...] A department official replied that Sheehy, his business partners, and Little Belt Cattle Company had never reported any livestock with the government.”
ABC News: Language on climate change, ESG removed from company website of Montana GOP Senate candidate
Business Insider: GOP Senate candidate uses Kentucky photo to tout his support for Montana agriculture — then quickly replaces it when asked about it
Tim Sheehy’s flaws continue to dominate headlines, while MontanaRepublicans turn against him. A messy primary is the least of Tim Sheehy’s problems – he will be dogged by these serious vulnerabilities well into the general election, if he ever makes it there.
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