Tim Sheehy, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana, is making national, and even international, news for repeatedly linking Native people to alcohol while on the campaign trail.
But Sheehy's campaign doesn't appear to care much about the controversy since it broke on Char-Koosta News on August 29, 2024. He hasn't responded on the record to any media outlets -- including The New York Times, which put the story on the nytimes.com homepage -- to explain why he described Native people as being "drunk at 8am" and why he claimed that beer cans have been thrown at him while on the Crow Reservation, home to the Crow Tribe.
"A spokeswoman for Mr. Sheehy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment," The Times wrote in a story headlined Tim Sheehy Was Recorded Using Racist Stereotypes About Native Americans.
Sheehy is a political newcomer. He is hoping to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who is running for re-election for what would be his fourth term in office.
Cook Political Report rates the race between Sheehy and Tester as a "Toss Up."