“None of us were running. He fucked his own party.”

— Former Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by Semafor, on Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) saying he made a last minute decision to end his re-election campaign to prevent Tester or former Govs. Brian Schweitzer (D) and Steve Bullock (D) from running for his seat.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) will not seek reelection, adding to a wave of retirements in the GOP ranks, Politico reports.

“University of Montana President Seth Bodnar is expected to run for U.S. Senate as an independent, part of an elaborate plan apparently backed by former Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in a move that has angered Democrats,” the Montana Free Press reports.

“Rumors of the move swirled through Democratic circles last week as it appeared that Tester intended not to support a Democratic challenger to two-term Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who played a heavy role in unseating Tester in 2024.”

Said Tester, in an apparent text: “Every race I ran as Montana Senator and U.S. Senator it was about distancing myself from the Democratic Party… During my last two races the Democratic Party was poison in my attempts to get re-elected.”

A new Emerson College survey in Montana finds 50% of voters support Tim Sheehy (R) and 46% support incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D) in the election for US Senate.

“Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL running for the Senate in Montana, has said he was discharged from the military for medical reasons because of injuries he sustained on duty, but his discharge paperwork tells a different story,” NBC News reports.

“The heavily redacted, two-page document obtained by NBC News indicates that Sheehy voluntarily resigned his commission and does not list any medical condition that forced him out of uniform.”

The Republican super PAC American Crossroads is pulling nearly $3 million in ads from Montana, which could be a sign of confidence that they think Tim Sheehy (R) may have the Senate race in the bag, Politico reports.

Control of the Senate appears likely to flip from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party this fall, as one of the nation’s most endangered Democrats, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), trails his Republican challenger in his bid for re-election, 44% to 52%, according to a new New York Times/Siena College poll.

“Tim Sheehy stumped behind closed doors earlier this week here with a crowd of supporters eager to make him the GOP’s Senate majority maker,” CNN reports.

“But the 38-year-old political novice was also eager not to be seen outside those doors.”

“Sheehy and his campaign have gone to extreme lengths to avoid press scrutiny as he seeks to ride former President Donald Trump’s coattails and tap into a reddening Montana to oust the three-term Democratic incumbent, Sen. Jon Tester, in November.”

Sen. Jon Tester (D) and challenger Tim Sheehy (R) debated last night:

TESTER: If you really feel this way about Native Americans, you ought to apologize for the statement you made about them that were totally inaccurate. But yet you won’t.

SHEEHY: I come from the military… We make insensitive jokes and probably off-color sometimes.

“Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-MT) reelection was already difficult. It just got a little harder,” Politico reports.

“The Montana state Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling Tuesday that Green Party candidate Robert Barb can remain on the ballot for this fall’s Senate race, a blow to state Democrats who had fervently tried to block him out of fear he would pull votes away from the highly vulnerable Tester.”

Politico: Control of the Senate is coming down to Montana — and Democrats are struggling.

“The campaign of Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy appears to have doctored a recent TV advertisement to remove a logo of the Property and Environment Research Center from the shirt he was wearing,” the HuffPost reports.

“PERC is a Montana-based think tank with a history of advocating for the privatization of federal public lands, which has become a central issue in the race.”

“Even as Kamala Harris’ ascension revs up the Democratic electorate, the party’s hold on the Senate could still end with a single race in Montana,” Semafor reports.

“The state’s Democratic senator, Jon Tester, is in the toughest predicament of any incumbent in the chamber. And though Republicans are increasingly confident about their chances of defeating Tester, and flipping the second seat they need to claim Senate control for the first time in three elections, the 68-year-old insists he’s no underdog.”

Said Tester: “What it looks like from here and what reality is are two different things. I’m going to go up and I’m going to go down, but I feel really good about where we’re at. And I feel really good about how this race is going to turn out.”

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “The Montana Senate race moves from Toss-up to Leans Republican.”

“We were very close to making this change in yesterday’s more expansive Senate update, but we were waiting for some additional polling evidence to do it. We got that polling shortly after publishing yesterday.”

“This move means that a majority of Senate seats, 51, now are rated Safe, Likely, or Leaning Republican in our ratings.”

“U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy recently said he parachuted into Glacier National Park as part of his military training in Montana — an activity a national park spokesperson said is not permitted,” the Daily Montanan reports.

“Sheehy, a Republican and a former U.S. Navy SEAL, made the comment at a campaign event last month, according to a video posted on Facebook and shared multiple times…”

“However, a Glacier National Park official said parachuting, hang gliding and base jumping are not allowed in the park. A public information spokesperson said the park does not grant special permission for the U.S. military, and if the activity is taking place, it is illegal.”

Said the spokesman: “There is no way to get permission.”

Montana U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy (R) is on audio making racist and disparaging comments about Native Americans, the Char-Koota News reports.

In an audio clip recorded at a fundraiser last year, Sheehy brags about roping and branding with members of the Crow Nation. He says “it’s a great way to bond with the Indians while they’re drunk at 8:00 a.m.”

A new NonStop Local poll in Montana finds Tim Sheehy (R) beating Sen. Jon Tester (D), 51% to 45%.

“The Montana Senate race is special to Republicans for a few reasons. For starters, it’s the party’s top prospect to flip the Senate, with a vulnerable Democrat running for reelection in a decidedly red state,” NOTUS reports.

“But for Donald Trump, he’s not campaigning in a state he won by 16 points just because he wants to extend his margins. He’s going because beating Sen. Jon Tester is personal.”

Said a source close to Trump: “There’s almost nothing that DJT enjoys more than exacting vengeance on his enemies. You screw him today, and you can rest assured that your day is coming. Might not be tomorrow, might not be next week or next year, but it’s coming.”

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) slammed President Biden early Monday morning following several days of Democratic lawmakers sounding the alarm about the president’s ability to hold office, KULR reports.

Said Tester: “President Biden has got to prove to the American people—including me—that he’s up to the job for another four years. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life.”