MONTANA — A former teacher and multigeneration dirt farmer with seven fingers sounds like the ideal description for a politician trying to keep a seat in Montana. Yet it’s unclear if Sen. Jon Tester’s brand of “authenticity” still matters to voters.
Democrats in Washington are preparing for the worst in Montana, investing in long-shot races in Texas and Florida to try and salvage the map. And out West, Democrats are worried that being a real Montanan doesn’t cut through partisan rancor the way it once did (though they’re not giving up on Tester’s chances in November).
Ten years ago, a plagiarism scandal took out former Montana Sen. John Walsh; now, controversies around a candidate’s background don’t appear to be swaying the polls. Republican Tim Sheehy has been accused of plagiarizing parts of his book, where he talks about bootstrapping his business partly with family money (he’s never publicly acknowledged the allegations). He admitted to previously lying about how he sustained a gunshot wound and confirmed that he grew up in a wealthy Twin Cities suburb, despite repeatedly saying on the campaign trail that he grew up in “rural” Minnesota. His business may not be as successful as he claims, and he was caught on tape disparaging American Indians.