GOP Senate Candidate Compares Himself to a Falsely Accused Rapist to… Defend Himself??

The comments are, on top of being deeply offensive by insinuating rape victims lie, just downright puzzling. I can’t imagine what goes through someone’s head when, at an event to connect with community members, they choose to defend themselves from political attacks (or, in Sheehy’s case, truths) by comparing themselves to an accused rapist.

Tester’s criticisms wouldn’t be wildly hard to defend against if Sheehy had any actual defenses. Tester, who’s held public office for more than two decades, pointed out on MSNBC in June that Sheehy hasn’t been in Montana that long, having only moved to the state in 2014: “Quite frankly, I’ve got a lot of equipment that I’ve owned longer than he’s been in the state of Montana,” Tester said. Surely there’s some other way to respond to this then *checks notes* bringing up the topic of rape and implying that victims lie? Or, for that matter, making any of this about rape at all…???

The Montana Senate race could be pivotal to Democrats’ ability to retain control of the Senate and protect against terrifying attacks on reproductive rights, especially given the latest presidential polling that has former President Trump on the path to reelection. Still, Sheehy faces a decent amount of hurdles even in the deep-red state, like struggles with name recognition, or fundraising, seeing as Tester has thus far out-raised him 3:1. 

Sheehy’s anti-abortion extremism could also be a liability since the majority of Montanans support legal abortion. Sheehy has repeatedly pushed the lie that Tester “supports elective abortion on demand up until the moment of birth,” citing Tester’s support for the non-controversial Women’s Health Protection Act—a bill that would codify a right to receive abortion through fetal viability, or with exceptions for medical emergencies as needed.

Sheehy has a relatively low-profile, beyond apparently identifying with accused rapists. But what we do know is… curious. He’s previously spoken about homeschooling his kids and also schooling them using a faith-based co-op with other children. And he’s seemingly suggested the federal government shouldn’t have any oversight over primary education: “We don’t have the federal government giving us a handbook saying teach your children this. We don’t need that.” Then, there’s the Washington Post’s reporting from April that showed Sheehy was cited in 2015 for inadvertently discharging a gun that then lodged a bullet in his arm. This has raised some eyebrows as Sheehy wrote in his memoir that the bullet in his arm came from his days in active combat. Interesting!

One of Sheehy’s campaign aides has also been caught sharing neo-Nazi memes on Twitter. And former employees of Sheehy’s company Bridger Aerospace, which he abruptly resigned from earlier this month, are reportedly suing Sheehy for breach of contract involving their stock compensation. Also interesting!

There are some key, close Senate races this election cycle, including in swing or red states like Nevada, Wisconsin, Ohio, and certainly, Montana. And at least in the case of Montana, Republicans don’t seem to be sending their best.