Cook Political Report shifts Montana Senate race toward GOP

[RandySF]

he nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the 2024 race for Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) seat from “lean Democrat” to a “toss up” Thursday.

“Three-term Sen. Jon Tester may well be Democrats’ strongest incumbent this cycle — he still enjoys an approval rating around 60 percent — but the 67-year-old has the toughest uphill climb of any incumbent Democrat, at least purely by the numbers,” wrote Jessica Taylor, senate and governors editor for Cook Political Report.
“Besides Tester’s proven ability to overcome the GOP lean of the state (he ran seven points ahead of then-President Barack Obama in 2012), the main reason we started this race in Lean Democrat was the prospect of a looming, bruising Republican primary that could divide the party, drain resources and produce a weaker Republican candidate,” she continued. “Moreover, outrunning Biden in a state where his loss margin could be even wider goes against recent political trends.”

Taylor noted that while there’s still the potential for a messy GOP primary between Republican candidates Tim Sheehy and Rep. Matt Rosendale (Mont.), as Rosendale has not taken himself out of the running for a possible primary run, there are signs that key Republicans in the state and nationally are coalescing around Sheehy.


https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4335969-cook-political-report-montana-senate-race-shift-gop/

[tritsofme]

1. This is probably the most important race of the cycle. Without a Tester victory, Democrats don't have a viable path to

keeping our majority.

[brooklynite]

2. And what will people do? Ignore the rating or accept that the race will be close?

[ananda]

3. Why can't Dems unite behind Tester and help him win?

Are Republicans the only ones who do that?

[senseandsensibility]

4. I agree

but it's a tricky situation. For him to win, he can't seem too aligned with the Dems.