US Senate candidate Tim Sheehy addresses a crowd of 300+ attendees in Billings Sunday afternoon September 22 at an airplane hanger next to Billings Logan International Airport. Tim Sheehy has received a “thumbs up” endorsement from the Yellowstone County News as the best candidate in this race that will help support our economy and secure our border. The economy and border security have resonated as the top two issues from Montanans in this race from Yellowstone County. You can read the reasons for this rare endorsement in the article as well as in McNiven’s Meanderings column starting on page 2. (photo by Jonathan McNiven)
Given the gravity of the Montana’s U.S. Senate race this election cycle, the YCN editorial board has decided to endorse a candidate for the first time in its history. The YCN editorial board endorses Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate over the current Senator, Jon Tester, and other third-party candidates.
We believe Sheehy outperforms Tester in the top two issues facing Montana voters as indicated by recent polling, these issues being: the economy and border security.
Regarding the economy and the more fundamental issue of grocery costs being up over 40% since January of 2021, we believe Montanans simply cannot afford another six years of Jon Tester’s voting record. Jon Tester has voted with the Biden/Harris administration over 90% of the time in the last three and a half years. Vice President Harris has broken more ties in the Senate than any other Vice President in history, and Jon Tester has voted with her every single time. Bills like the Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan Act passed by the Biden/Harris administration and voted for by Tester have likely worsened inflation and have caused the loss of jobs in blue collar industries, including the natural resource industry in Montana,
Per recent polling, border security is the second biggest issue among Montana voters. Just this calendar year, the United States has had at least 10 million undocumented border crossings of which drugs are smuggled, crime is increased, and local Montana resources are exhausted. As the country’s concern about drug overdoses and gang-related violence grows, the U.S. Senate needs a politician that will work to enforce border security.
Montana values are a focal point of this election with Tester’s campaign attempting to paint Tim Sheehy as a carpetbagger. Unfortunately for Tester, Montana values are not synonymous with being the member of congress most beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists. Montana values are not synonymous with being a rubber stamp for an administration focused more on serving coastal elites than the blue-collar workers of the American West. Montana values are not synonymous with ignoring the policy concerns of fellow Montanans which include border security.
In contrast, Montana values ARE synonymous with service to one’s country, self-reliance, entrepreneurship, concern for our own, and a commitment to ethics and honesty.
This race will likely decide the U.S. Senate majority and thus economic and border security policy. Given the importance of this race, Tester’s 18 years of poor service to Montanans, Sheehy’s background as a combat veteran and businessman, and the perspective of Yellowstone County voters on federal issues, we have decided to endorse Tim Sheehy for U.S. Senate.
