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Tim Sheehy (businessman)

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Timothy Patrick Sheehy (born November 18, 1985)[1] is an American politician, businessman, aerial firefighter, and former Navy SEAL who is a United States Senator-elect for Montana. Sheehy founded Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting and wildfire management company.

Tim Sheehy
Sheehy in 2023
United States Senator-elect
from Montana
Assuming office
January 3, 2025
SucceedingJon Tester
Personal details
Born (1985-11-18) November 18, 1985 (age 39)
Ramsey County, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarmen Sheehy
Children4
EducationUnited States Naval Academy
OccupationAerial firefighter, business executive
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service2008–2019
RankLieutenant
UnitU.S. Navy SEALs
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan
AwardsBronze Star Medal
Purple Heart Medal

Sheehy ran in the 2024 United States Senate election in Montana as a Republican. He won the party's nomination on June 3, and defeated three-term Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in the general election.

Early life

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Sheehy was born in Ramsey County, Minnesota,[2] in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and grew up in a lake house in Shoreview about 10 miles (16 km) from where he was born.[3] He attended St. Paul Academy, graduating in 2004.[3]

Military career

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After high school, Sheehy was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 2008.[4][5] He was a Navy SEAL.[6] He later attended Army Ranger School.

Sheehy has said a bullet lodged in his arm during a 2012 Afghanistan firefight and that, suspecting it was from friendly fire, he did not report the incident at the time to protect his unit's members.[7][8][9] In 2015, when seeking medical care in a Kalispell hospital, he said the injury was from an accidental discharge of a firearm in Glacier National Park that day.[10] A park ranger cited Sheehy and fined him $525 for discharging his gun.[6] Sheehy told The Washington Post that he "made up the story about the gun going off to protect himself and his former platoonmates from facing a potential military investigation into an old bullet wound that he said he got in Afghanistan in 2012."[11][12][13][6] He has said that questioning whether he was shot in Afghanistan is "tantamount to falsely accusing him of stolen valor".[12]

Sheehy left active duty in 2014 and was discharged from the military in 2019.[14]

In 2015, Sheehy was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, presented by Congressman Ryan Zinke.[3]

Book

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In 2023, Sheehy published a memoir, Mudslingers: A True Story of Aerial Firefighting.[15] The Daily Montanan accused him of plagiarism in the book, giving four examples, the briefest a 27-word passage from Wikipedia.[16][17] The memoir was not vetted by the U.S. Department of Defense Prepublication and Security Review (DOPSR) as required.[16]

Business career

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In 2014, Sheehy founded the company Bridger Aerospace. Headquartered in Belgrade, Montana, it has provided aerial firefighting services in 24 states and two Canadian provinces.[18] Upon founding the company, Sheehy was its only pilot, operating one plane and assisting ranchers with tracking cattle.[19] In 2024, Sheehy resigned as Bridger's CEO to focus on his Senate campaign.[20] The company was facing a dire financial situation: it had lost $77.4 million in 2023 and $20.1 million in the first four months of 2024.[21]

In 2020, Sheehy co-founded the Little Belt Cattle Company with Greg Putnam, another former Navy SEAL, who runs the day-to-day operations of the nearly 20,000-acre[22] working cattle ranch, which borders over 500,000 acres of national forest. The company manages its own supply chain of sustainably raised Montana beef.[23]

United States Senate

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2024 election

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In June 2023, Sheehy announced he would run as a Republican against three-term Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in the 2024 United States Senate election in Montana.[24] He was among the wealthiest candidates running for Senate.[25][26] Republicans targeted the Montana election to gain a majority in the Senate.[12]

During the campaign, Sheehy said his top three priorities were immigration, education, and the crisis at the U.S. southern border.[27] He said that young women had been "indoctrinated" on the issue of abortion.[28] He called himself "strongly pro-life" and also "in strong support of IVF." He was critical of 2024 Montana Initiative 128, a ballot initiative to establish a right to abortion up to fetal viability in the Montana constitution.[29]

In an August 2023 town hall, Sheehy called for a border wall and blamed China for facilitating fentanyl trafficking.[30]

Sheehy has said, "We have a Department of Education, which I don't think we need anymore." He proposes eliminating the department, which he says will save $30 billion.[31][32]

Sheehy has said "public lands belong in public hands" to protect rights to hunt, fish, and recreate, and that more local collaboration and input is needed since "Montanans know best how to manage our lands, not the Washington bureaucrats".[33] He was on the board of the Bozeman-based Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a nonprofit free market environmentalism think tank.[34]

Recordings first reported by The Char-Koosta News in August 2024 of Sheehy at a 2023 closed-door fundraiser led to accusations that he had racially stereotyped Montana's Crow people.[35] In one statement about how he ropes and brands cattle with Crow tribe members, he said it is "a great way to bond with all the Indians while they're drunk at 8 a.m." Sheehy said the tapes had been "chopped up".[36][37][38] Tribal leaders requested an apology, but Sheehy declined.[39][40]

Personal life

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Sheehy was involved in a 2019 plane crash in which he was a student pilot and there was a flight instructor. The plane crashed into a house, killing the instructor and injuring a person in the house. Sheehy sustained minor injuries. After inspecting the plane and interviewing Sheehy, who said he was not piloting it, the National Transportation Safety Board determined the instructor's actions led to the crash.[41][9]

Sheehy lives with his wife, Carmen, a former Marine Corps officer, and their four children, who are home-schooled,[42] on a ranch outside Bozeman.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Incoming Sen. Tim Sheehy - R Montana, Member-elect - Biography | LegiStorm". Legistorm. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, FamilySearch, Timothy Patrick Sheehy, 18 Nov 1985; from "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, Ancestry; citing Ramsey, Minnesota, United States, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis.
  3. ^ a b c Kimbel-Sannit, Arren (December 5, 2023). "Who was Tim Sheehy before he started running for Senate?". Montana Free Press. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tim Sheehy". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Tim Sheehy". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Baker, Mike; Browning, Kellen (October 18, 2024). "A Candidate for U.S. Senate Says He Was Shot in War. Was He?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2024. Mr. Sheehy and his lawyers have insisted that he was indeed shot in Afghanistan and that suggesting otherwise was "tantamount to falsely accusing him of stolen valor."
  7. ^ Brown, Matthew. "Montana GOP candidate who could flip control of Senate nagged by claims he lied about bullet wound". ABC News. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  8. ^ Oladipo, Gloria (October 19, 2024). "Montana park ranger says Senate candidate Tim Sheehy lied about combat wound". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Sheehy, Tim (December 12, 2023). "Chapter 11: Accidents Will Happen". Mudslingers: A True Story of Aerial Firefighting (An American Origins Story) (Ebook ed.). Simon and Schuster. ISBN 979-8-88845-206-6.
  10. ^ Bolton, Alexander (October 27, 2024). "Tim Sheehy's military record scrutinized in Montana Senate race". The Hill. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Goodwin, Liz (April 6, 2024). "Montana GOP Senate candidate says he lied to ranger about gunshot wound in 2015". Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Hulse, Carl (November 2, 2024). "A Tight Senate Battle Comes Down to a Few Key Races". The New York Times. Mr. Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and political neophyte whose honesty has been questioned because of conflicting accounts of how he got a gunshot wound in his right forearm, has hit Mr. Tester for being a crucial vote in Washington for the Democratic agenda. He has been outspent by Mr. Tester but Democratic strategists worry that Mr. Tester's time has run out.
  13. ^ Liz Goodwin, Liz Goodwin (April 6, 2024). "Montana GOP Senate candidate says he lied to ranger about gunshot wound in 2015". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  14. ^ Kube, Courtney (October 24, 2024). "Montana Senate candidate says he was 'medically discharged' from the Navy. Records say otherwise". NBC News. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "Mudslingers". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Pengelly, Martin (September 6, 2024). "Trump-backed Senate candidate's Navy Seal stories not cleared by Pentagon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Ehrlick, Darrell (September 20, 2024). "Problematic prose: Senate candidate Sheehy's book appears to contain four plagiarized portions". Daily Montanan. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "Charts". Bridger Aerospace. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Writer, By Abby Lynes Chronicle Staff (September 8, 2019). "Fighting fires and thwarting drones: Belgrade-based sister companies expanding". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Ragar, Shaylee (July 2, 2024). "Tim Sheehy steps down as CEO of his aerial firefighting company". Montana Public Radio. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  21. ^ Reinhard, Beth; O'Connell, Jonathan (August 11, 2024). "Montana GOP Senate candidate touts his business. It's losing millions". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  22. ^ "2021 Annual Report" (PDF). Montana Land Reliance.
  23. ^ Johns, Louise (May 6, 2024). "Democrats have beef with a Montana GOP Senate candidate's cattle ranch". NBC News. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  24. ^ Kimbel-Sannit, Arren (June 27, 2023). "Republican Tim Sheehy launches bid for U.S. Senate". Montana Free Press. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  25. ^ Turner, Abby (August 13, 2024). "Who's the wealthiest Senate candidate?". National Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  26. ^ Metzger, Bryan (November 2, 2023). "Montana GOP Senate candidate would be in the top 10 richest lawmakers — and his investments are sure to irk some conservatives". Business Insider. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  27. ^ Szpaller, Keila (October 14, 2024). "Sheehy's plan for education includes throwing Department of Ed 'in the trash'".
  28. ^ Kapur, Sahil; Nobles, Ryan; Thorp, Frank V; Gregorian, Dareh (October 7, 2024). "Montana GOP Senate candidate says women have been 'indoctrinated' on abortion". NBC News. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  29. ^ Szpaller, Keila (August 22, 2024). "Sheehy criticizes ballot measures, including initiative to protect abortion".
  30. ^ Kimbel-Sannit, Arren (August 4, 2023). "Sheehy's political positions at forefront during 'America First' town hall". Montana Free Press. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  31. ^ Szpaller, Keila (October 14, 2024). "Sheehy's plan for education includes throwing Department of Ed 'in the trash'". Daily Montanan.
  32. ^ Ehrlich, Darrell (October 4, 2024). "More recordings show Sheehy disparaging Natives, federal government, Tester Senate candidate's claims of tapes being 'chopped' debunked". The Daily Montana. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  33. ^ Jacobson, Louis (October 30, 2024). "In Montana Senate race, Jon Tester exaggerates Tim Sheehy's stance on public lands". Q2 News (KTVQ). Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  34. ^ Miller, Blair (June 13, 2024). "Sheehy didn't disclose former board membership at Bozeman think tank".
  35. ^ Browning, Kellen (September 3, 2024). "Tim Sheehy Was Recorded Using Racist Stereotypes About Native Americans". The New York Times.
  36. ^ Ehrlick, Darrell (September 20, 2024). "Sheehy doesn't apologize for comments, says recordings chopped up". KTVQ. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  37. ^ Lutey, Tom (November 1, 2024). "Who is Tim Sheehy now?". Montana Free Press. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  38. ^ Ehrlick, Darryl (October 1, 2024). "CSKT stands with Crow Tribe following U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy's remarks". KPAX News. Retrieved November 2, 2024. My ranching partner and really good friend, Turk Stovall, he's a Crow Indian and we ranch together on the Crow Reservation. So I'm pretty involved down there, going to the Crow Reservation and their annual Crow parade this year. I rope and brand with them every year. So, it's a great way to bond with all the Indians being out there while they're drunk at 8 a.m., and you're roping together. Every one that you miss, you get a Coors Light on the side of your head.
  39. ^ Coffin, Jackie (September 16, 2024). "Tribal leaders renew calls for an apology from U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy". Yellowstone Public Radio.
  40. ^ Bolton, Alexander (October 1, 2024). "Montana GOP Senate candidate says remarks about Native Americans were 'insensitive,' rejects call to apologize". The Hill. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  41. ^ Miller, Blair (September 25, 2024). "Lawsuit filed against Sheehy over Florida plane crash dismissed". Daily Montanan. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  42. ^ In Montana, Republican Tim Sheehy Tries to Outrun Jon Tester, and Scrutiny, New York Times, Carl Hulse, October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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