NRA Targets Montana Senate Race With 7-Figure Ad Buy

In its first television ad buy of the 2024 election cycle, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is targeting a Democrat U.S. senator from Montana with a $2 million advertising campaign.

According to a Fox News report, the gun-rights organization is running the 30-second ad in an attempt to unseat Sen. John Tester, who has held the seat since 2006. A recent AARP poll actually shows Tester currently trailing Republican Tim Sheehy, a combat veteran running for office for the first time, among likely voters by a 51-to-45% margin in the race that is critical in determining which party will hold the Senate majority moving forward.

Randy Kozuch, executive director for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), said in a prepared statement that Tester’s voting record in the Senate “makes clear he is not on the side of Montanans who support the 2nd Amendment.”

“This November, gun owners can’t afford to sit on the sidelines,” Kozuch said. “With this seven-figure ad buy, only a portion of our electoral engagement in Montana, we are calling out Jon Tester.”

According to Kozuch, Tester has long been on the wrong side of the Second Amendment debate.

“He has voted to spend taxpayer dollars to promote state-level red flag laws, which are ripe for abuse, and deny gun owners basic due process protections,” he said. “And he’s voted multiple times to criminalize private firearms transfers while supporting government blacklists.” 

In the NRA ad, a woman is seen inside her home with a shotgun in her hands. During the commercial, a man drives up and attempts to break into the home.

“Where I live, you can’t wait for 911,” the woman says. “My family’s safety is in my hands alone. But gun grabbers who’ve never been to Montana, let alone out here, want to take my rights away. My gun is in my pocket, but my senator is in theirs. Jon Tester failed to protect my right to self-defense, and that’s why moms like me can’t wait to fire him in November.” The woman then pumps a round into the chamber.

When asked about the advertisement, a spokesman for the Sheehy campaign said it points out an important difference between the two candidates.

“The choice is clear this election,” he said. “Tim Sheehy is A rated by the NRA because he’ll always protect our Second Amendment rights and Jon Tester is F rated by the NRA because he supports the Obama-Biden-Harris radical liberal gun-control agenda.”

For his part, Doug Hamlin, the newly elected NRA executive vice president and a retired Marine, said Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, is the man for the job in the Treasure State.

“Tim Sheehy represents what’s best about the USA,” Hamlin reportedly told Secrets. “As a patriot, decorated combat SEAL, and entrepreneur, Tim embodies exceptionalism in everything he does. Tim has an ‘A’ rating from the National Rifle Association and will protect the Second Amendment rights of the residents of Montana.

“The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is on the line in Montana, and the National Rifle Association is all in to elect Tim Sheehy.”