Why 'the last Democrat standing' in Montana is skipping the DNC [View all]
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/16/g-s1-17155/why-the-last-democrat-standing-in-montana-is-skipping-the-dnc
Why 'the last Democrat standing' in Montana is skipping the DNC
AUGUST 16, 2024 5:00 AM ET
Kirk Siegler
GREAT FALLS — Democrats are bringing new energy to their party convention in Chicago next week. But that enthusiasm isn’t trickling down to a race in one rural state that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
In Montana, three-term Senator John Tester is in a tight race against Republican Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL.
Tester has refused to endorse Kamala Harris and his campaign says he won’t be attending the DNC because it’s harvest time and he’s busy on his farm near Big Sandy, Montana. He’s also too busy also for interviews, according to his campaign.
But Tester has a well-established and proven brand in Montana, so maybe it doesn’t matter. The airwaves here are blanketed with ads reminding Montanans that he’s a third generation local, the Senate’s only working farmer, hardly a coastal elite Democrat.
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