Tester denies tight race, says internal polling has him beating Sheehy: ’Kicking his a--’
Sen. Jon Tester dismissed the idea that his Senate race in Montana is competitive, claiming he was handily defeating his Republican opponent in internal polls.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., claimed he was besting his Republican opponent in Montana in campaign data, pushing back on the widely held understanding that the state's Senate race is particularly close.
"I'm kicking his a--," the Montana Democrat told Fox News Digital Thursday in reference to his Republican Senate opponent, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy.
Asked about how much he was defeating Sheehy, Tester said, "That's not for you to know."
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"My race isn't in a precarious place," Tester pushed back when questioned about his decision to skip a critical meeting with President Biden's top campaign advisers, given that the senator's re-election is so competitive.
Tester was one of a few senators who did not attend a meeting with senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti and campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Thursday as concerns about the president's path to victory in November mount.
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His office told Fox News Digital he couldn't attend due to a "scheduling conflict" but did not provide details.
When asked directly why he couldn't attend Thursday, Tester said he had to miss the DSCC meeting because he needed to speak to aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman about the "Sentinel project," likely in reference to its work for the U.S. Air Force’s LGM-35A Sentinel weapon system.
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The weapons system is "a critical modernization of the ground-leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, the bedrock of U.S. national security," according to the company's website.
The Montana senator responded to a question about his concern over his Senate race, due to its competitive nature, saying, "I'm worried about making sure that this nation is secured. Period. That's what I'm worried about."
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In response to Tester's claim, a Sheehy spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The only a---- getting kicked this week are Joe Biden’s and Jon Tester’s who continues to support the president and thinks he's '100% with it.'"
Nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report rates the Montana race as a "Toss Up," along with Senate races in Nevada, Ohio and Michigan.