Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy edges out three-term Sen. Jon Tester in the Montana Senate race

His victory increases the Republican majority in the Senate to at least 52, according to Associated Press forecasts.

All eyes were on the Big Sky State's hotly contested Senate race, pitting three-term Senator Tester, the only statewide elected Democrat in Montana, against former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy.

At the start of the cycle, the Montana race was considered one of the best opportunities for Republicans and one of Democrats' weakest seats in the 2024 cycle.

Sheehy launched his Senate bid exclusively on Fox News Digital in June 2023, calling for “a new generation of leaders to enter Congress” to oust the red state Democrat.

Montana's Senate race could be Republicans' best bet to influence the balance of power

Senator Jon Tester (left) and Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. (Getty Images/Sheehy for Senate)

The Navy SEAL quickly received support from prominent GOP members after announcing his candidacy, including Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Ted Budd of North Carolina and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and John Barrasso of Wyoming.

Before entering the political scene, Sheehy served in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and the Pacific, receiving the Bronze Star with Valor for Heroism in Combat and a Purple Heart. In addition to owning several businesses, the veteran shares four children with his Navy veteran wife, Carmen Sheehy.

MONTANA COULD DECIDE THE SENATE

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Sheehy, whom he called an “American hero,” in February after Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana made a short-lived bid for the seat.

U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy from Montana speaks on the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds)

Tester, a former school teacher, was first elected to the Montana Senate in 2006. The Democrat owns a family farm in Big Sandy, where he lives with his wife, Sharla.

Tester has taken a more moderate stance on certain issues during his time in the Senate and has openly broken with the Biden-Harris administration on several issues over the years. The Democrat withheld her endorsement from Vice President Kamala Harris after she was named the party's nominee.

Tester outspent Sheehy throughout the election cycle, but the final polls before Election Day showed the Republican candidate leading the race.

Just two months before Election Day, two major political handicaps have tipped the Senate race in Sheehy's favor.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester prepares to debate GOP challenger Tim Sheehy on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Montana, Monday, September 30, 2024. (The Missoulian)

The Cook Political Report, an independent, nonpartisan election handicapper, recently moved the race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” while Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics moved the race to “lean Republican.” has.

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Democrats defended 23 Senate seats this cycle, more than twice as many as Republicans, who defended 10 House seats.