Montana Republican Tim Sheehy Announces Bid for U S Senate

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Montana Republican Tim Sheehy Announces Bid for U.S. Senate.
Tim Sheehy - businessman, firefighting pilot, and former Navy SEAL - is "answering the call to serve" in officially launching a 2024 campaign for the U.S. 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 are feeling 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 into the ring for the Democrat-held seat.
Sheehy is running in one of the most closely watched races of the 2024 cycle that could likely determine whether Republicans gain a majority in the Senate - but shifting the focus away from political parties, Sheehy said that "one thing I learned in a foxhole in Afghanistan or the belly of a submarine, is when the chips are down there is really only one political party - and that's American."


Sheehy is running in one of the most closely watched races of the 2024 cycle that could likely determine whether Republicans gain a majority in the Senate - but shifting the focus away from political parties, Sheehy said that "one thing I learned in a foxhole in Afghanistan or the belly of a submarine, is when the chips are down there is really only one political party - and that's American."

"I joined the military right out of high school and did several deployments overseas," Sheehy told Fox News Digital. "And after I was wounded, I started my company and created a lot of jobs here. And those jobs are all still in service of this country, fighting wildfires and building critical protective gear for our troops."

Sheehy, who is running in the state of fellow former Navy SEAL Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., noted that "we're in one of the lowest participation rates in history of veterans in Congress. And that's a huge problem. We want to get combat veterans in and those who understand service back to help fix this government and get things working right."

As CEO of veteran-founded Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based company that builds aerial firefighting aircraft, Sheehy touched on how forest management and wildfire suppression in the U.S. is currently "held back by bureaucracy."
Sheehy suggested that rather than the federal government dictating land management with "2000 mile away environmental policies that put a chain and a padlock around our resources and around our forests," preventative wildfire decisions should be dealt with locally, using "common sense l
Transcript
00:00 Montana Republican Tim Sheehy announces bid for U.S. Senate.
00:05 After months of being rumored to be the GOP's next big recruit Tim Sheehy announced Tuesday
00:10 his bid to challenge Democrat Jon Tester for his Montana seat in the U.S. Senate.
00:16 "From inflation to our border to our deficit, America is ready for change.
00:21 And I think it's time for a new generation of leaders to step up," Sheehy told Fox News.
00:27 His announcement drew the ire of Tester and Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale, who
00:32 has reportedly floated his own run for the seat.
00:35 Both criticized Sheehy's support from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the National
00:40 Republican Senatorial Committee.
00:43 But Sheehy's portrayal as a political outsider — he's the CEO of an aerial services company
00:48 — echoes that of many New Age-perspective Republican leaders as of late.
00:54 The former Navy SEAL said in his announcement release he'd "bring a new generation of strong
00:59 conservative leadership and common-sense solutions to fix our nation's problems."
01:04 The Purple Heart recipient was infamously the lone survivor in a 2019 plane crash that
01:09 killed his flight instructor and injured a 17-year-old girl whose house was struck by
01:13 the aircraft.
01:15 Sheehy was sued for negligence by the girl's family after the crash, the Daily Beast reported.

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