As I’m sure many have heard there is an upcoming Senate race between Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy. This election is important because as a country it helps to determine who has the majority in the Senate. Currently Democrats hold 48 seats and Republicans 50. 

There are many things that these 2 candidates differ in.

Jon Tester was born and raised in Havre, Montana. He worked as a music teacher for two years, then re

turned to his family farm and butcher shop. He also spent five years as chairman of Big Sandy School District. He has been in office from 2006-Present (18 years), and runs on the Democratic side.

Tim Sheehy hasn’t released much of a resume, but he has said he is a former Navy Seal and is

from Minneapolis. He moved to Montana with his wife in 2014. Prior to moving to Montana he lived and grew up in a multimillion dollar lake house outside of The Twin Cities. He now owns a cattle ranch where

the cattle are raised, fed, and processed.

These two candidates, while having varying opinions of what’s best for Montana, actually have a

lot in common with their hopes for Montana’s future.

Most of the issues addressed on their websites have similar responses in how they think the problems should be handled. The only issue where they disagree completely is their thoughts on abortion and women’s health. Tester is pro-choice and Sheehy is pro-life. 

They both want to uphold the Second Amendment and believe that if people are responsible then they will be safe and everyone can keep their privacy and guns. 

Tester moves to make schools more accessible to everyone and would ensure that policies from Washington don’t “Stifle creativity in the classroom”. Sheehy, on the other hand, believes that “Above all, we need leaders in Washington to stop things like ‘drag queen story time’ and more of the Lord’s Prayer and the Pl

edge of Allegiance in our classrooms.”

They both have said that they agree on the key concerns for Montana, the rising housing costs, and veterans and their mental health. 

On their websites Tester puts down more information about addressing the issues and how he is putting in his money and time to try and fix it. While Sheehy does do that, most of his responses are s

horter and don’t tell how he plans to fix any of what he is addressing. It is also somewhat concerning how much he addresses his personal religion and how he wants to incorporate it with his policies for the state, which is against the Constitution.

Both have similar opinions on topics such as, public lands, border security, gun rights, and veterans.

Even though the majority of Hellgate students can’t vote, it is still important to know about what’s going on and that we have influence in other ways.