Republican Tim Sheehy wins Montana Senate race, unseating Dem. Sen. Jon Tester
Tim Sheehy won Montana's Senate race on Wednesday, unseating the state's Democratic incumbent, Sen. Jon Tester, and flipping the seat Republican.
Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL new to politics, took home a victory with 53% of the vote to Tester's 45.2%, with more than 86% of the vote in on Wednesday morning. Sheehy earned more than 271,800 votes, while more than 231,700 cast a vote for Tester.
Sheehy's victory further cements Republicans' control of the Senate. Republicans only needed to capture two seats to take home a Senate majority – and they already flipped Ohio and West Virginia on Tuesday night.
Tester served as the state's senator for 18 years, even as Republican candidates took both chambers of the state's legislature, the governorship, and the state's other U.S. Senate seat, held by GOP Sen. Steve Daines. His defeat represents a further step in Montana's shift to the right over the past two decades.
The race was the third most expensive Senate race this election cycle, with both candidates spending more than $260 million, and outside groups pitching in more than $155 million.