BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana may be facing his own toughest re-election challenge but on Tuesday control of the Senate was at stake in a state that has moved sharply to the right since the election 68 year old grain farmer first election.

The Republicans are pinning their hopes on Tim Sheehya former US Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company. Sheehy, 38, received early support from party leaders and others former President Donald Trumppaving the way for the political newcomer to win the June primaries.

It’s the first time Tester has shared the same ballot as Trump, who twice won by large margins in Montana.

Long lines were seen at polling places in Montana as a winter storm brought snow to some parts of the state.

A Sheehy victory would seal the Republican Party’s dominance in the five-state Northern Plains region: Tester took office as one of six Democratic senators in the largely rural swath of the U.S. heartland that also includes Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and includes South Dakota. He’s the only one now.

The lawmaker is also the only remaining Democrat to hold statewide office in Montana.

The candidates and their allies shattered political spending records and bombarded voters with nearly $300 million in ads on TV, radio, their phones and in their mailboxes. Total spending is expected to be about $500 for each active registered voter in Montana.

“This is the toughest race since Tester entered,” said political analyst Jeremy Johnson, “and Tim Sheehy is a truly formidable candidate.”

In the final days of the race, Tester’s campaign plastered Montana newspapers and airwaves with ads amplifying a former park ranger’s claims that Sheehy lied about a gunshot wound in his arm.

Sheehy said during an interview with conservative pundit Megyn Kelly that the wound came from fighting in Afghanistan and was not accidentally self-inflicted, as he told the ranger in 2015. The Republican said Tester tried to smear him and that other SEALs vouched for Sheehy’s integrity. , but he has not released any supporting medical records.

Montana’s political profile has changed dramatically since Tester’s first election in 2006, going from a “purple” state that traditionally sent a mix of Democrats and Republicans to higher office to a state where partisan divisions reign and the Republican Party has a enjoys a supermajority in the state legislature. .

Tester warned during the campaign about “outsiders” like Sheehy — who came to Montana in 2014 and bought a ranch — driving up housing prices and limiting hunting and fishing access for the general public.

“We’re seeing a lot of people coming into our state, wealthy people, wanting to try to buy our state, to try to turn it into something that it’s not,” Tester said.

Tester, the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has built a reputation as a moderate in his 18 years in office. He has passed legislation such as expanding health care for veterans and bringing broadband to rural areas, while at times opposing Democratic proposals to tighten regulations on the energy industry.

But Tester also consistently voted with Democrats on major legislation, putting him out of step with Montana’s hardening conservatism.

In the small town of Columbus, Montana, John Hungerford, 71, said after voting for Sheehy that Tester had not done enough to address his top issues — immigration and inflation — and too often toeed the Democratic party line.

“His voting record is not indicative of Montana values,” Hungerford said.

About a third of Montana voters said the economy and jobs are the most important issues facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including more than 1,000 voters in Montana. About a quarter of Montana voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and about 1 in 10 cited abortion.

Sheehy tried dent Tester’s reputation for authenticity by spotlighting more than $500,000 that lobbyists and their families have donated to Tester this election cycle. Republicans alleged a pattern of campaign donations flowing to the Democrat from sectors that needed his vote after lawmakers faced scrutiny over donations from bank managers hit by a regulatory rollback in 2018 Lockheed Martin workers who benefited from a 2021 defense bill.

There was no indication of misconduct by Tester. But Sheehy’s tactics reflected Tester’s anger in 2006 over a three-term Republican incumbent president ensnared in a lobbying scandal.

Sheehy also linked Tester to the perceived failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

“We have an economy that is on its knees. We have foreign policy crises all over the world that we can’t even hope to begin addressing now. It is time for a change in leadership,” Sheehy said.

The Tester campaign’s response was to remind voters of his longstanding advocacy in Congress for Montana’s economically vital agricultural industry.

Tester also combined his campaign with efforts to pass a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. It was part of an effort to court independents and moderate Republicans, whose support has kept Tester in power even as the state shifted to the right.

Sandra Troy, 68, said abortion was at the top of her mind when she voted for Tester, believing the Democrat would help protect access to the procedure.

“The government should not influence our lives,” she said. “Tester, he votes for the people.”

Sheehy touted his military service and business experience, drawing parallels between his recent arrival in Montana and the early 20th century settlers who were resented by those who arrived even earlier.

Sheehy ignored the questions asked about him record as a lobbyist And derogatory comments he said to the supporters about Indians.

His campaign was boosted by a rally with Trump in Bozeman, Montana, over the summer. The fast-growing university town could be crucial in determining which party wins.

Trump – that one personal grudge about Tester’s 2018 derailment from Trump’s veteran affairs nominee — mocked Tester’s physical appearance at the event.