Tester denies tight race, says internal polling has him beating Sheehy: ’Kicking his a--’

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., claimed Thursday 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. 

The senator further justified missing a crucial Democratic meeting with top Biden advisers, revealing he was going to be busy at a different meeting with a defense contractor, whose employee PAC happens to be a top campaign donor. 

"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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Sen. Jon Tester suggested he was defeating his Republican opponent by a significant amount in internal polls.  (Getty Images)

"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) on Thursday as concerns mount about the president's path to victory in November. 

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His office initially 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. 

Tester said he couldn't go to the meeting because of a scheduled talk with a defense contractor.  (Anna Moneymaker)

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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 defense contractor also happens to be a top donor to Tester's campaigns over the years. Since 2009, Tester's campaign and various associated fundraising entities have gotten $89,500 from the Employees Of Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC, per the Federal Election Commission.

Donations from similar defense contractors and lobbyists ramped up for Tester after 2021, when he earned the top role as chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee. Between then and June 2023, he had received over $160,000 from a variety of employees and committees within the defense industry, per the Associated Press. 

Senate candidate Tim Sheehy (Tim Sheehy for Senate Campaign)

The senator, who is seemingly preferred by many in the defense world given the monetary support he has amassed, once used his opponent's ties to lobbyist money and alleged influence to defeat him in 2006. During a debate at the time, Tester accused former Sen. Conrad Burns of casting "votes based on money that’s passed to you."

"That is wrong, and it shows the fact that Sen. Burns has lost touch with Montana," he claimed. 

"Washington has changed him, it will not change me," he promised. 

Tester's office referred Fox News Digital on Friday to the senator's earlier comments about his Thursday meeting's importance to national security. Additionally, his office pointed to the fact that the U.S. Air Force’s LGM-35A Sentinel weapon system affects Montana specifically. They did not answer questions about donations to him or whether the amount of money received was at odds with his past statements.

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Senate Democrats up for re-election may be hopeful that split-ticket voting increases in frequency as Biden's poll numbers fall. (Getty Images)

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Tester responded to a question on Thursday 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."

In response to Tester's claim about besting Sheehy, 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.