Democratic Sen. Jon Tester lied about Joe Biden’s ability to do the job of president. That’s the brazen message of a new attack ad in Montana, a high-stakes race where both sides know a victory in November could mean control of the Senate.
The 30-second commercial, produced by More Jobs, Less Government, a super PAC backing Republican opponent Tim Sheehy, airs Tuesday.
It starts with Democrat Tester’s own words.
“Joe Biden, when I’m around him, and it’s not every day … he’s absolutely 100 percent there,” he says in the ad produced by More Jobs, Less Government, a super PAC backing his Republican opponent Tim Sheehy.
“That wasn’t true,” the narrator says. “Tester lied.”
A new ad from supporters of Republican candidate Tim Sheehy highlights Sen. Jon Tester’s previous claims that Joe Biden was fit for the office of president
The angle has become a common attack method for Democrats after Biden bowed to weeks of pressure last month and ended his re-election campaign.
Republicans and their supporters have an arsenal of quotes from Democratic lawmakers downplaying health concerns and insisting Biden is as fit as someone decades younger.
Their claims ring hollow after Biden collapsed during his first televised debate with Donald Trump in July.
The ad will run for the rest of the month in the three major TV markets of Helena, Missoula and Great Falls, as well as online, as part of a seven-figure purchase.
“Jon Tester betrayed the people of Montana by knowingly lying about Joe Biden’s mental decline for years,” said Andy Surabian, chief strategist at More Jobs, Less Government.
“While he may be running from Biden now, he has been one of his biggest advocates and defenders from the moment he was elected.
“Tester voted 95% of the time for the Biden-Kamala agenda and would vote for liberal Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader.”
Tester initially stood by Biden after his disastrous debate performance, but ultimately said he should withdraw on July 18, three days before the president announced he would withdraw.
Less than a year earlier, he denied reports that Biden was no longer the man he once was.
Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, is the Republican candidate. He has the support of Donald Trump, who will campaign with him in Bozeman on Friday night
The 30-second ad will air Tuesday and run for the rest of the month in a crucial state that both parties believe could be key to control of the Senate.
Tester has held the seat since 2007, but Trump won the state easily in 2016 and 2020
“Biden is fine. He’s doing a great job,” he told NBC News in a clip included with the ad last August.
The ad also accuses him of supporting the Biden-Harris administration in every way possible.
Tester has held the seat in Montana, a state that strongly supported Trump during the 2020 election, since 2007.
Republicans see the fight as crucial to their hopes of capturing the Senate.
They expect to pick up a seat in West Virginia, where Democrat Joe Manchin, now an independent, is retiring. They need just one more seat to secure a majority in the Senate.
The result is millions of dollars being invested in the battle between Tester and Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL.
The latest campaign finance report shows that Tester has raised more than $43.7 million, a record amount and three times what he raised at this stage in his race in 2018.
Sheehy has raised $13.7 million since entering the competition a year ago.
The importance of the race will be on full display Friday, when former President Donald Trump holds a rally in support of Sheehy.
In 2020, he won the state by more than 16 points, and in 2016 he won by more than 20 points over Hillary Clinton.