What to Know About Tim Sheehy Heading Into Primary Election Night
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
CONTACT
rehm@mtdems.org
Montanans see Tim Sheehy for who he is – a liar who’s out for himself
Helena, MT – With the general election just around the corner, Montanans know the truth about Tim Sheehy: He’s an ultrawealthy out-of-stater who has been caught lying to Montanans about nearly every part of his life, is running for Senate to benefit himself, and has positions that are wildly out-of-touch with the Montana way of life.
SHEEHY IS RUNNING FOR SENATE TO ENRICH HIMSELF
Sheehy made millions of dollars off taxpayer-funded government contracts, and if elected he would have the power to steer those contracts to his struggling business. As company filings reveal that Sheehy’s business lost $77 million and is “deeply in debt,” Montanans have reason to be concerned about Sheehy’s motivation to run for the job that could direct millions of taxpayer dollars to his company.
As worries about his conflicts of interest swirl, Sheehy is refusing to commit to divesting from Bridger Aerospace – the only action that would ensure he could not profit off his position in the Senate.
Sheehy already represents the worst of D.C. Sheehy founded his own lobbying group to direct more money to his company, and has already cashed nearly $200,000 from lobbyists to boost his campaign. And he has a history of leveraging his personal relationships with the D.C. elite to secure insider favorsfor his business and himself.
Montana Free Press: U.S. Senate hopeful’s company reported losses of more than $77 million in 2023
Daily Montanan: Tim Sheehy’s former employees sue over alleged breach of contract
NBC News: Montana GOP Senate candidate keeps his CEO job — but his company won’t say how he avoids conflicts
Bloomberg Gov: Key GOP Senate Recruit Seeks Job Overseeing His Largest Customer
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
HuffPost: 'Tough On China' GOP Senate Candidate Sold Off Chinese-Tied Stocks
American Journal News: Follow the money: Tim Sheehy takes thousands from drug company lobbyists
SHEEHY’S PATTERN OF LIES AND INCONSISTENCIES CONTINUES TO GROW
Montanans can’t trust Sheehy because he refuses to tell the truth. From lying about having a “rural” upbringing to falsely claiming that he “bootstrapped” his company from “scratch” (despite taking $600K from his family to start his business), Sheehy isn’t being honest with Montanans about who he is.
Sheehy’s contradictory accounts about a gunshot wound raise more questions than answers. He says he received the bullet in his arm in Afghanistan, but records say it was the result of accidentally shooting himself in Glacier National Park in 2015. Sheehy is refusing to release the medical records from that day that would reveal what happened.
Washington Post: Sheehy apologized and asked for leniency after alleged 2015 gun incident
KTVQ: Sheehy says he lied about accidental discharge, gunshot wound incident in Glacier National Park
Montana Public Radio: Sheehy says he lied about the origin of a bullet wound in his arm
Sheehy repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail that he grew up in a “rural” area when he actually grew up in a multimillion-dollar lake house in a wealthy suburb near his elite private school in St. Paul.
Sheehy is trying to hide that his business is failing while claiming to be a successful businessman. Filings show that his company is “deeply in debt, hemorrhaging cash, and at risk of failing to meet its financial obligations.”
Montana Free Press: U.S. Senate hopeful’s company reported losses of more than $77 million in 2023
Daily Montanan: Tim Sheehy’s former employees sue over alleged breach of contract
Sheehy calls himself a “cowboy,” despite not running the day-to-day operations of the ranch land he bought just a few years ago. Instead, Sheehy uses his vanity ranch for brand promotions, influencer photoshoots, and luxury hunting excursions for rich tourists.
Sheehy said he “bootstrapped” his company “from scratch” while conveniently omitting the $600,000 he raked in from his family to start his business.
SHEEHY WILL CHANGE MONTANA FOR THE WORSE
As a Montana newcomer, Sheehy doesn’t understand anything about Montana – and his policy positions make that clear. Sheehy’s “pure privatization” plan would dismantle Medicare for Montana’s seniors, shutter rural hospitals, and repeal the Affordable Care Act, and Sheehy is fighting to end Montana women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions.
Sheehy has also stepped on the “third rail” of Montana politics. Sheehy supports transferring public lands to “state agencies, or even counties,” which would make it easier to sell off Montana’s public lands to out-of-state multimillionaires like him. And while he’s playing “cowboy” on his recently purchased ranch land, Sheehy is refusing to allow hunters access to his property that surrounds a piece of Montana’s public lands.
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 Montana voters. 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.”
Montana Independent: Sheehy attacks health care law that provides coverage for tens of thousands of Montanans
Montana Independent: Anti-abortion group endorses Republican Tim Sheehy for Montana US Senate seat “He has touted the endorsement of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which works to elect anti-abortion candidates across the country and demands its endorsees support a nationwide abortion ban at 15 weeks’ gestation.”
NBC News: Democrats have beef with a Montana GOP Senate candidate’s cattle ranch “Little Belt also does not participate in Block Management, a program run by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks that works with private landowners to provide free hunting access.”
From now until November, Montanans will hear about Tim Sheehy’s conflicts of interest, dishonesty, and toxic policy positions, and hold him accountable at the ballot box in November.
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