College Athlete Reveals She Was Offered Thousands of Dollars to Support Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester: Here’s Why She Refused

A Montana student-athlete revealed that Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) paid athletes in the state to publicly support him.

Tester is facing a tough re-election battle in a state where Republicans believe they can pick up a seat in November.

And Lily Meskers, a third-year journalism student and D1 track and field athlete, says Testers and his backers wanted to pay student-athletes at the University of Montana at Missoula to make videos supporting him.

Montana Together, a group supporting Tester’s re-election, was willing to pay between $400 and $2,400 for “unscripted video recommendations on Instagram Reels,” according to Meskers’ revelations on Montana Talks.

“The deal gave all college athletes the opportunity to participate and earn a lot of money,” she noted.

She also said the group encouraged athletes to “educate their audiences about Senator Tester’s record and encourage him to maintain his support for this important policy.”

Meskers says she does not support Tester because he is in favor of allowing men to participate in women’s sports

However, Meskers says she and other female student athletes were put off by the request because Tester supports allowing biological males who have transitioned to female to compete in women’s college sports.

In 2023, Tester voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which sought to amend Title IX to ensure that only biological females could participate in women’s sports.

It comes at a time when a fierce culture war is raging among transgender people in elite sports.

Advocates argue that men who were born male and transition should be allowed to compete against women in athletic events, despite Republicans’ assertion that such individuals have a biological physical advantage in most sports.

According to the Cook Political Report, the race was a toss up for Tester, with former President Donald Trump winning Montana in 2020 by more than 16 points.

To retain his seat, Tester will have to defeat 37-year-old Republican Tim Sheehy, a businessman and former Navy SEAL.

Meskers says the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal for Tester was sent to the University of Montana athletes by their athletic director Kent Haslam.

Meskers, a junior journalism major and D1 athlete, says Testers and his backers wanted to pay student-athletes at the University of Montana at Missoula to make videos supporting him.

Meskers says she and other female student-athletes were put off by the request because Tester supports allowing biological males who have adopted a female sport to compete in women’s college sports.

A group supporting the re-election of Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana offered student athletes thousands of dollars to support him on social media in a tight race to retain his seat in the deep-red state

When Haslam asked Meskers why she had been given the opportunity, she sent him a message.

“I received an email from Mateo at Opendorse in late July about a NIL opportunity for student athletes. Opendorse is one of the few companies working in the NIL space for college athletes, connecting athletes with NIL opportunities,” he explained.

“Mateo said an organization called Montana Together used Opendorse to find athletes who were interested in spreading information about Senator Jon Tester and the causes they (the athletes) were interested in,” Haslam continued.

‘Athletics sent the opportunity to all athletes in case there was interest. The athletes could then contact Mateo for more information.

Republican Senate candidate and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy (pictured) is entering the race for Tester’s seat in an effort to flip the razor-thin Senate majority in November