It’s getting into the silly season of politics as Election Day draws closer.
Desperate politicians are making wild promises.
And a vulnerable Senate Democrat made this shocking ask of Trump supporters.
Montana Democrat Senator needs Trump voters to survive
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is the most endangered Senate Democrat up for re-election this year.
His race in Montana will almost certainly decide which party controls the Senate after the election.
Tester is running in a state that’s become increasingly hostile to Democrats.
Democrats went from holding six of eight statewide elected offices in Montana in 2012 to having Tester as the man standing for his party.
No Democrat has won a statewide election since his win in the 2018 Midterms.
Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has led Tester in 9 out of the last 10 public polls out of the state.
Tester has to share the ballot this year with former President Donald Trump this election, who’s looking for his third straight landslide win in the state.
He’s going to need tens of thousands of Trump voters to split their ticket and vote for him to have any shot to survive.
Ticket splitting has become increasingly rare, according to the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
In the 2012 Election, Tester won a close race while Mitt Romney was easily carrying the state.
But his luck might run out this year.
“Perhaps ticket-splitting returns in force this year — if it did, Tester could still survive. But the longer-term trend is clearly toward less ticket-splitting,” Center For Politics analyst Kyle Kondik stated.
Jon Tester makes a huge mistake
Sheehy is endorsed by Trump and makes sure to remind voters of that where the former President’s support is an asset.
Meanwhile, Tester told MSNBC that someone needed to punch Trump in the face during an interview.
“I think you need to go back and punch (Trump) in the face.” -Jon Tester#violentdemocrats pic.twitter.com/vmHFgn3UTd
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 10, 2022
That won’t endear him with the Trump supporters, whose votes he desperately needs if he wants to have any chance.
Changes in Montana since Tester was first elected in 2006 make his chances of survival that much harder.
Data firm L2 found that more Republicans have moved to Montana since 2008 as the state’s population has grown.
“The largest group of Montana voters identifies as Republican, and the second largest group, 38% of 1,064 people polled in late August, identified with neither major party,” Republican pollster Bob Ward found.
Democrats are third with 24% of voters.
“I mean, only one out of five voters in Montana are Democrats, and Jon Tester is doing a great job of consolidating the Democratic vote. He is winning 95% of it,” Ward said.
Tester has been a rubber stamp on every major bill for former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden.
And voted for both impeachment hoaxes against Trump and against the former President’s border security agenda.
Senate Democrats have a narrow 51-49 majority.
West Virginia’s Senate seat is a sure bet to flip Republican after U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) decided to retire.
Democrats are counting on Jon Tester to hang onto his seat to keep the GOP from reaching 51 Senators.
But Montana may be too hostile territory for any Democrat to win.
