Tim Sheehy, a wealthy Republican businessman and political novice, has defeated Senator Jon Tester of Montana, according to The Associated Press, giving the G.O.P. another seat in its new Senate majority.
Mr. Sheehy, a 38-year-old former Navy SEAL, beat Mr. Tester, the three-term Democratic incumbent, despite being dogged by controversies during the campaign. He faced scrutiny over his conflicting stories about how he received a bullet wound in his right forearm and questions about the stability of his aerial firefighting business.
But the shifting demographics of Montana, which has experienced an influx of residents, many conservative, helped propel Mr. Sheehy to victory with a strong boost from Donald J. Trump’s overwhelming advantage against Vice President Kamala Harris in the state.
With Democrats conceding West Virginia’s Senate seat to Republicans months ago, Montana figured prominently in the G.O.P.’s plans to knock Democrats out of their one-seat majority.
Mr. Sheehy was recruited to run by Republicans who believed his résumé as a combat veteran, pilot and rancher opened a path to defeat Mr. Tester, 68, a third-generation Montanan who emphasized his agricultural roots as a working farmer. First elected in 2006 after beating a Republican incumbent, Mr. Tester had held off two other G.O.P. challengers since then.
Mr. Sheehy’s campaign was rocky. His account of suffering a gunshot wound in Afghanistan was sharply challenged after it was disclosed that he had reported accidentally shooting himself in Glacier National Park in 2015. Mr. Sheehy said he had never revealed the wound in Afghanistan to protect those who served with him from an investigation into friendly fire and then lied about the incident in the park.
The conflicting accounts were the subject of some of the flood of television and online political ads that washed over Montana for months as the two candidates and outside support groups invested tens of millions of dollars in the race, underscoring its importance for the Senate majority.
Mr. Tester had in the past won re-election by holding on to his Democratic backers while attracting significant Republican and independent support by emphasizing his rural upbringing outside the small town of Big Sandy in the northern portion of the state.
In his campaign, Mr. Tester sought to paint Mr. Sheehy, who moved to Montana in 2014, as part of the throng of affluent new residents who are buying up ranch land and driving up home prices for average residents. He accused his opponent of favoring privatizing huge swaths of public land, a volatile issue in Montana, and hit Mr. Sheehy for wanting to eliminate the Education Department when most students in the state attend public schools.
Mr. Sheehy and G.O.P.-allied groups fought back. They contended that while Mr. Tester cultivated a moderate image back home, he voted regularly with Democratic leaders in Washington, providing crucial support for Biden administration policies. Mr. Sheehy did not shy from portraying the race as the one that would decide the Senate majority, arguing that voters who might like Mr. Tester should still vote Republican to put the chamber back in G.O.P. hands.
Despite Mr. Tester’s extensive record, the demographic tide was running against him. Montana was becoming a G.O.P. stronghold, with all the top offices filled with Republicans who were outspoken supporters of Mr. Trump.
His defeat cemented a two-decade political shift in the Great Plains states, where Democrats were once dominant but Republicans will now have a near-lock on congressional seats.
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