FIRST ON FOX: Tim Sheehy – businessman, firefighter pilot and former Navy SEAL – is “answering the call to serve” by officially launching a 2024 campaign for 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 Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., in 2024.
“From inflation to our border to our deficit, America is ready for change. And I think it’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “Leaders who understand servant leadership, which is putting the mission before yourself, and leaders who understand how to get results.”
“I think Americans feel underrepresented. They’re tired of a government that they don’t feel is working for them,” the candidate said when asked why he decided to throw his hat in the ring for the Democratic seat.
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Sheehy is running in one of the most watched races of the 2024 cycle that could likely determine whether Republicans win a majority in the Senate, but shifting the focus away from the political parties, Sheehy said that “one thing I learned in a hole in Afghanistan. or the belly of a submarine, is that when the chips are down there’s only one political party, and that’s American.”
Senate candidate Tim Sheehy (Tim Sheehy for Senate Campaign)
Before entering the political scene, Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific region, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and Purple Heart Medal. In addition to owning several businesses, the veteran recipient shares four children with his Navy veteran wife, Carmen Sheehy.
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“I joined the military right out of high school and did several overseas deployments,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital. “And after I was injured, I started my company and created many jobs here. And those jobs are still serving this country, fighting wildfires and building critical protective equipment for our troops “.
Sheehy, who is running in the state of former Navy SEAL Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., noted that “we’re at one of the lowest turnout rates in history for veterans in Congress. And that’s big problem. We want to bring back combat veterans and those who understand service to help fix this government and make things work.”
As CEO of veteran-founded Bridger Aerospacea Montana-based company that builds aerial firefighting aircraft, Sheehy discussed how forest management and wildfire suppression in the US are currently “held up by bureaucracy.”
Tim Sheehy served as a Navy SEAL after the tragic events of 9/11. (Tim Sheehy for Senate Campaign)
Sheehy suggested that instead of the federal government dictating land management with “environmental policies 2,000 miles away that put a chain and a padlock around our resources and around our forests,” fire prevention decisions forestry should be dealt with locally, using “a common sense land management policy”. which is rooted in local government and business principles.”
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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 businesses is create good, high-paying jobs here in the state,” Sheehy said. “These are not jobs that depend on out-of-state visitors or out-of-state revenue. These are jobs that exist here in our state that are creating careers in our state. And I think that’s a very important trajectory that we want to launch 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 hoped to bring “a of common sense to operate like a business.” .”
Each election has seen more Republicans elected up and down Montana, and Tester remains the only Democrat with a statewide seat in the Big Sky State, which Sheehy believes is due to the Democratic Party going activate the cultural values appreciated by the government. state residents.
Tim Sheehy’s wife, with whom he shares four children, is a Navy veteran. (Tim Sheehy for Senate Campaign)
“I actually don’t think Montana has gotten any redder,” Sheehy said when asked about the state’s shift to red in past elections. “I think the Democratic Party has left Montana. I think Montanans have always been socially conservative, hard-working people who have a sense of responsibility and they’re done.”
The Senate candidate said Democrats and Tester, who announced re-election in February, want “more government, not less.”
“Democrats 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 his whole life. And now I think he’s going to have a hard time running away from that path because it’s so clear.”
“Jon Tester has been on that path his whole life. And now I think he’s going to have a hard time running away from that path because it’s so clear,” Sheehy said of the vulnerable Democrat.
Asked about other potential Republican candidates launching a campaign, Sheehy said “we’ll have to see who throws their hat in the ring.”
So far, no other Republican candidates have entered the Senate primary, but Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., is rumored to be seriously considering a bid.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., announced he is running for re-election in 2024. (Tom Williams)
“Montaneans can know that I’ve put everything on the line for this country. I’ve been wounded in combat. I’ve led hundreds of missions and I’ve put everything on the line for all Americans, Republicans and Democrats,” he explained. the republican said the candidate.
“We have serious challenges as a nation, and I think we need serious people who want to bring common sense solutions to move the country forward,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital. “I think Americans and Montanans, who are an incredibly practical people, just want to get things done and want a leader who can 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 play in the Senate primary in Montana, the two “had a conversation a while ago that was very positive.”
“I think he will support our campaign. I think he likes a profile like mine, but I don’t know what he will do,” said the Republican.
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 detailed his “positive vision for the future of our country” which includes opposing “Jon Tester and the Democratic Party’s agenda of inflation, open borders, criminals on cops, drugs and violence in our communities , and an awakened culture that affects our classrooms. and military bases,” as stated in the press release.
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“Jon Tester has been in office for nearly a quarter of a century and has lost sight of our Montana values,” Sheehy said in his long-awaited 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’s time a new generation of leadership will rebuild America.”
Aubrie Spady is a freelance production assistant at Fox News Digital.
