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EXCLUSIVE: Montana’s U.S. Senate race has one of the most “intense” ground games of the 2024 cycle with the chamber majority hanging in the balance, according to the chairman of the Republican campaign arm. 

Sen. Steve Daines is spearheading Republican efforts to take control of the Senate as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), with a heightened emphasis on ousting a three-term Democrat in red state Montana.

Daines exclusively told Fox News Digital the Montana Senate race pitting Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy against three-term Democratic Sen. Jon Tester features one of the strongest ground game efforts from the GOP he has witnessed in the state.

“I’ve watched a lot of Montana Senate races, House races, governor races over the years. This is the most intense ground game operation and the most far-reaching that I’ve seen in many election cycles,” Daines told Fox News Digital. “It’s a door-to-door type of persuasion, as well as a lot of phoning, a lot of digital. So, it’s a really strong ground game, knowing that I think well-run ground games win elections.”

COLLEGE ATHLETES ARE BEING OFFERED THOUSANDS TO ENDORSE MONTANA SENATOR’S RE-ELECTION BID THROUGH NIL DEALS

The New York Times recently reported that Sheehy is leading Tester by eight percentage points, but Daines emphasized that while the Republican candidate remains ahead in several polls, they are going to continue energizing their get-out-the-vote efforts until Election Day.

“It’s a very aggressive, active time with just a little over 2½ weeks until the election focused on voter turnout and ground game operations, as well as continuing to have the sufficient resources,” Daines said. “Get the message out to those few undecided voters that are left, whether it’s through television, radio, digital mail. So, we’re not letting up. You keep working hard all the way until Election Day.”

The Montana race figures to be the most expensive Senate race on a per-vote basis, which Daines attributes to its high stakes.

“This is what secures the majority for the Republicans and takes the gavel out of Chuck Schumer’s hands,” he told Fox. “And that’s why there’s so much focused attention on this race.”

In early September, two political forecasters shifted the Montana race from a toss-up to “leans Republican,” along with AARP and the NYT surveys showing the Republican leading the race against the three-term Democrat.

A visit to Bozeman by former President Trump in August, who endorsed Sheehy earlier this year, contributed to the recent polling shift in the Republican candidate’s favor, according to the chairman.

KEY SENATOR REPORTEDLY BEHIND HARRIS’ RISE IN POWER WITHHOLDS HIS ENDORSEMENT FOR PRESIDENT

The electorate in Montana has shifted toward the GOP over the years, and Tester remains the only Democrat to hold a statewide office in the state.

“I think what’s happened is Montana, in terms of their voting and their thinking, has moved a bit more. But the biggest problem for the Democrats is they’ve moved so far left. This is not the same Democrat Party that I grew up with here in Montana,” Daines said of the red wave in the state.

Daines also highlighted the national implications of the Big Sky Senate race.

“This race is bigger than Montana, because this race indeed will decide the future of the United States Supreme Court, the future of the circuit courts,” Daines said. “There’s also the Trump tax cuts that expire in ’25, which would be a massive tax increase for Montana’s small businesses. 

“Jon Tester voted against that tax bill. I voted for it. Tim Sheehy would vote for that. So, there’s just a lot at stake, not only for Montana but for the nation. And, so, we here in Montana will probably be able to flip the majority control of the U.S. Senate with Tim Sheehy’s victory. And that has significant implications, not only for the great state of Montana, but for our great country.” 

There are 34 Senate seats up for grabs this cycle, and Democrats are protecting 23 of them. The Senate majority stands at 51-50 with Democrats in the majority, meaning just a one seat flip could shift the majority to the Republican Party.

With a little more than two weeks until Election Day, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Mexico have each begun in-person early voting on Saturday.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re casting a ballot in these states:

Voting also begins today in several battleground House districts. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has begun early voting. The deadline to turn in a mail-in application is 5 p.m. on the fifth business day before the election, which this year is Oct. 29.

The secretary of state’s website encourages mail-in voters to submit their applications “as early as possible,” and at least two to three weeks before Election Day. Applications may be submitted online, by mail or by email or fax. 

Ballots can be returned by mailing them back in the envelope provided, hand-delivering them to a local election office, dropping ballots off at an early voting location during early voting hours or using a ballot drop box.

Ballots cannot be dropped off at a polling place on Election Day.

Massachusetts permits all registered voters to cast their ballots early at designated voting sites. The early voting period begins Saturday and extends through Nov. 1. 

The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation in Massachusetts is 10 days before any election or town meeting. The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 26. 

Voters can register online, by mail or in person. 

Massachusetts automatically registers citizens to vote when they apply for or renew a driver’s license, apply for MassHealth benefits or seek health insurance through the Commonwealth Health Connector. 

NEVADA SENATE HOPEFULS TACKLE TRANS ATHLETES, IMMIGRATION AND UFOS IN ONLY DEBATE

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Nevada. 

Nevada has begun early voting. State law requires that all registered voters receive a ballot by mail. The period to receive a mail-in ballot is Oct. 16-22. Voters who do not receive their ballot in the mail should contact their local election office.

Returned ballots by mail must be postmarked before Nov. 5. The deadline to return a mail ballot in person is 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. 

Nevada counties offer early voting in-person beginning Saturday, continuing through Nov. 1.

The deadline to register to vote by mail passed on Oct. 8. Those who wish to register to vote online must do so before Oct. 23.

Nevada has same-day in-person voter registration. Those who wish to register and vote on Election Day must present a valid Nevada driver’s license or Nevada ID card and must vote in-person at a polling location. 

PRO-DEFUND POLICE DEM IN KEY RACE ONCE THREATENED TO ‘KILL’ AND ‘BURY’ MAN OVER THE PHONE: POLICE RECORDS

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for New Mexico.

New Mexico has begun early voting. Voters may request an absentee ballot or vote in person at their local County Clerk’s office or an early voting location before Election Day, according to the secretary of state’s website. No excuse is required to vote absentee.

Voters must request an absentee ballot by Oct. 22. The deadline to return a requested ballot is 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. 

Voters have been able to cast their ballots in-person early at their local polling place since Oct. 8 and may continue to do so until Nov. 2.

The deadline to register to vote is 28 days prior to an election. It passed on Oct. 8. 

Same-day voter registration is available in New Mexico. Any eligible voter in New Mexico can register to vote or update their voter registration and then vote on the same day at their County Clerk’s office or at any polling location in their county on Election Day and participating Early Voting locations.  

To register and vote on the same day, voters must present a valid New Mexico driver’s license or New Mexico identification card. Alternatively, voters may present a document that contains an address in the county together with a photo identification card. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump is making an unusual campaign stop this weekend in battleground Pennsylvania.

The Republican presidential nominee will be behind the counter working the fry cooker at a McDonald’s restaurant in the Philadelphia area.

“A friend of mine owns a McDonald’s someplace,” Trump said Friday in an extended interview on “Fox and Friends” when asked about his weekend plans for manning the fry station at the fast-food institution. 

“Oh, I’m going. I’m going to do everything.”

CRUNCH TIME: HARRIS TEAMING UP WITH OBAMAS NEXT WEEK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

With 2½ weeks to go until Election Day, Trump remains locked in a tight presidential race with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

And Trump continues to claim Harris never worked at McDonald’s.

CAMPAIGN BATTLE BETWEEN THE BILLIONAIRES: MARK CUBAN AND ELON MUSK HIT THE TRAIL FOR HARRIS AND TRUMP

As Harris campaigns to succeed President Biden in the White House, she has spotlighted her middle-class upbringing and her time working at McDonald’s while studying for her undergraduate degree in the 1980s, contrasting Trump’s wealthy upbringing.

“I have” [worked at McDonald’s], Harris said in an MSNBC interview last month.

“Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family,” she added. “I worked there as a student.

“I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people and what our responsibility, then, is to meet those needs.”

But Trump claims she’s not telling the truth.

“I’m going because she lied,” Trump said in his “Fox and Friends” interview.

“You don’t think she ever worked in McDonald’s?” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked.

“I know she didn’t. We checked it out,” Trump said. “They said she never worked here.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump is making an unusual campaign stop this weekend in battleground Pennsylvania.

The Republican presidential nominee will be behind the counter working the fry cooker at a McDonald’s restaurant in the Philadelphia area.

“A friend of mine owns a McDonald’s someplace,” Trump said Friday in an extended interview on “Fox and Friends” when asked about his weekend plans for manning the fry station at the fast-food institution. 

“Oh, I’m going. I’m going to do everything.”

CRUNCH TIME: HARRIS TEAMING UP WITH OBAMAS NEXT WEEK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

With 2½ weeks to go until Election Day, Trump remains locked in a tight presidential race with Vice President Kamala Harris. 

And Trump continues to claim Harris never worked at McDonald’s.

CAMPAIGN BATTLE BETWEEN THE BILLIONAIRES: MARK CUBAN AND ELON MUSK HIT THE TRAIL FOR HARRIS AND TRUMP

As Harris campaigns to succeed President Biden in the White House, she has spotlighted her middle-class upbringing and her time working at McDonald’s while studying for her undergraduate degree in the 1980s, contrasting Trump’s wealthy upbringing.

“I have” [worked at McDonald’s], Harris said in an MSNBC interview last month.

“Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family,” she added. “I worked there as a student.

“I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people and what our responsibility, then, is to meet those needs.”

But Trump claims she’s not telling the truth.

“I’m going because she lied,” Trump said in his “Fox and Friends” interview.

“You don’t think she ever worked in McDonald’s?” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked.

“I know she didn’t. We checked it out,” Trump said. “They said she never worked here.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Students at one major Pennsylvania university in a “swing” area of the commonwealth were bullish on Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances in November but acknowledged the race remains tight.

Fox News Digital visited Lehigh University, a prominent private college in Bethlehem, with such famous alumni as Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, businessman and NASCAR team owner Roger Penske and top Trump confidante Alina Habba.

The Philadelphia Eagles once held training camp at Lehigh’s Murray Goodman athletic campus on the other side of South Mountain.

Along Packer Avenue in the middle of the main campus, Jack Ciavolella of the Lehigh University College Democrats was staffing a Democrats table Tuesday with other students and a volunteer from the Harris-Walz campaign.

KEY PA REGION SEES ‘WAITLIST’ FOR TRUMP SIGNS AS LAWMAKER SAYS VOTERS ARE READY TO REVERSE DEM POLICIES

A colorful totem pole of campaign signs stood waving in the wind next to the table for Harris, Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., D-Pa.; Eugene DePasquale, a candidate for attorney general; and State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-North Philadelphia, a candidate for auditor general.

“Since Northampton County is a swing county in a swing state — and probably one of the most important states in the Union — we kind of got to do our part,” Ciavolella said.

“So that’s what I’m here for.”

He added that as Election Day draws nearer, the campaigns are increasingly becoming a topic on campus, whether from Trump-supporting students, independents or those who agree with Ciavolella’s group.

Fox News Digital reached out to the College Republicans via an email listed on the campus website but did not receive a response.

“A lot more people are starting to get interested about it, about how the election’s coming and its razor-thin margins,” Ciavolella said. “So, people start to get a lot more interested in things like this.”

Students are more engaged in politics this term than they have been in recent years, he said.

INSIDE DEMOCRATS’ GROUND GAME IN PENNSYLVANIA’S ‘SWING’ LEHIGH VALLEY AREA

As Fox News Digital conversed with other students walking down the mountainside campus from Sayre Park, none who stopped identified as Trump supporters.

Ciavolella said his group has been more visible as the deadline for voter registration approaches.

In the nearby vestibule of a campus coffee shop, a volunteer for a nonpartisan voter registration group was indeed trying to do just that.

Lehigh is not unlike other schools in Pennsylvania, like Penn State, where students often register to vote on campus rather than in their out-of-state hometowns. That dynamic has made Centre County, where State College is located, into a swing county in national elections.

Meanwhile, Eric Cepeda from New York said he is registered to vote on campus at Lehigh and said equality and community issues are most important to him this cycle.

Tuition costs are also top of mind for him these days, he said, adding Lehigh has been helpful to students who need assistance and that Harris is the better candidate to address college affordability.

HAMILTON COLLEGE STUDENT ADMITS TO POSTING ‘ANTISEMITIC REMARKS’ ON CAMPUS, NEW YORK STATE POLICE SAY

Ethan, a student from New Jersey, said abortion and student loans are major issues for him this election.

“Just, morally, how people are going to handle being in charge of the country and in charge of people,” he said.

“I’ve seen people from both sides.”

Political advertising has also been very noticeable in the area as of late, he added, crediting Pennsylvania’s “swing state” position for that increase.

“Personally, I like to do my own research and not get, you know, swayed by the opinions of others,” he added.

POPULAR PA DEMOCRATIC MAYOR WARNS TRUMP IS ‘OUT-MESSAGING’ HARRIS: I GET MORE FROM STEPHEN COLBERT

Looking down toward the rest of Bethlehem, the roof of the historic “Hotel B” stuck out next to the busy Hill-to-Hill Bridge, as the rusted, long-silenced blast furnaces from Bethlehem Steel lined the near bank of the Lehigh River below.

Noticeably absent from the city’s skyline, however, was Martin Tower, the blue and silver cruciform-shaped skyscraper north of Center City that once housed Bethlehem Steel’s headquarters. The site, which also hosted a Durkee spice factory, is being redeveloped, a theme throughout much of the Lehigh Valley.

Down at the end of campus closest to the steel stacks, Mina Handelsman of California and Sophia Ross of Washington, D.C., were waiting for a campus shuttle that runs to Lehigh’s nearby Mountaintop and Goodman campuses.

Both political science majors said abortion rights are a big issue for them, adding there are several important subjects that come to mind.

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“I also think plans for both the national debt and student college debt [are important],” Handelsman said.

“Student loan programs: I agree,” added Ross. “What I think is really important and then also some economic issues. And I think some of the immigration policy is pretty interesting.”

The students said they are both enrolled in classes that deal with elections and politics. 

“[W]e don’t hear a lot of discord or disagreement [on campus],” Ross said, adding it is important to get registered to vote either way.

Handelsman said she predicts Harris will win Pennsylvania but have a tougher time in other swing states.

“In Pennsylvania, young people are really being mobilized to get out the vote. And I think that as the younger generation, a lot of us, our issues are being more represented by Kamala Harris.”

“I’m guessing it will be Kamala Harris, but I really don’t know,” Ross added.

The Lehigh Valley is also home to several other schools, including DeSales University in Center Valley, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Lafayette College in Easton and Moravian University in Bethlehem, where students’ votes weigh heavily in the swing area.

With Election Day inching closer, a recent survey suggested that a majority of Americans believe they are worse off than they were four years ago.

The Gallup poll, released Friday, found that 52 percent of Americans said they and their family are worse off today than they were four years ago. The Gallup poll was conducted Sept. 16-28 among 1,023 Americans and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Another 39 percent said they were better off, while 9 percent said they felt the same now as they did back then.

Gallup noted that these results are most similar to their 1992 survey – when then-Gov. Bill Clinton defeated incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush.  

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP AHEAD OF HARRIS BY 2 POINTS NATIONALLY

The responses varied on the person’s party affiliation.

About 72% of Democrats say they were better off in 2024 than 2020, according to the survey. The numbers were much lower for independents, 35%, and Republicans, just 7%.

The polling powerhouse noted that participant’s response to whether they felt “better off” was typically tied to the U.S. economy. 

Gallup’s monthly Economic Confidence Index (ECI), which ranges from -100 to +100, was currently at -26, with 39 percent saying they were better off financially four years ago. 

TRIO OF NEW POLLS AGREE ON WHERE TRUMP AND HARRIS STAND WITH 3 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL ELECTION DAY

The organization has been tracking ECI’s since 1992. Since the start, the highest ECI score was +56 in January 2000, and the lowest was -72 in October 2008.

Gallup noted that former President Trump’s 2020 loss to now-President Biden was a “sign that noneconomic factors were paramount to voters that year.” 

Gallup noted that the ECI has largely been negative over the past four years.

In 2022, the index registered several scores that were the worst since the 2007-2009 recession and inflation reached highs. 

During the past three years, Americans have named inflation as the most important financial problem facing their family. The survey’s findings suggest that inflation is an underlying fear of many Americans’ perception of the economy – despite the generally low unemployment and steady economic growth.

Approximately 46 percent of Americans say their current economic conditions are “poor,” some 29 percent described them as “only fair,” while 25 percent said they were “good” or “excellent.” 

Additionally, 62 percent said the economy is “getting worse,” while 32% said in the survey that it is “getting better.”

CRUNCH TIME: KAMALA HARRIS TO TEAM UP WITH THE OBAMAS NEXT WEEK 

The survey found key areas that were on the top of voter’s minds as they headed to the polls.

A more recent Fox News poll, conducted Oct. 11-14, found that the economy continues to outrank all other issues, as 40% say it is the most important issue in deciding their choice for president. 

Less than half as many prioritize immigration and abortion, and far fewer cite issues such as election integrity, health care, climate change, guns, crime and foreign policy.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara and Dana Blanton contributed to this report.

LANSING, Mich. — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in the crucial Great Lakes battleground state of Michigan.

“It’s the time to make a plan to vote. Make a plan,” Harris urged supporters at a rally in Grand Rapids, the first of her three stops here Friday. “Michigan, today I ask you…..are you ready to make your voices heard?”

And she emphasized to the crowd that “we’ve got to energize and organize and mobilize and remind our neighbors and our friends that their vote is their voice.”

However, the Democratic presidential nominee didn’t have Michigan to herself on Friday with under three weeks to go until Election Day.

CRUNCH TIME: KAMALA HARRIS TO TEAM UP WITH THE OBAMAS NEXT WEEK 

Former President Trump, the Republican standard-bearer, is also in Michigan. 

Trump’s first stop: a campaign office in Hamtramck, the only Muslim-majority city in the U.S. 

Hamtramck Democratic Mayor Amer Ghalib, the first Arab American and first Muslim to lead the city, attended the event. Ghalib made headlines a month ago by endorsing Trump, even though three city council members in the same city have endorsed Harris.

WATCH DONALD TRUMP’S INTERVIEW ON ‘FOX AND FRIENDS’

“Frankly, it’s an honor,” Trump said if the mayor’s endorsement, as he took questions from reporters upon arrival in Michigan.

Both Trump and Harris are courting the state’s consequential Arab American voters, who make up over two percent of Michigan’s population, the highest percentage of any state in the nation.

The Trump campaign this year has seen an opening among Arab Americans, over their anger at the current administration’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza.

“I don’t think they’re going to be voting for her [Harris],” Trump argued.

And pointing to the latest polls in the state, he touted “I hear we’re leading in Michigan.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

Many of the latest public opinion surveys in the swing state do indicate Trump with a very slight edge over Harris in a margin-of-error race.

Matt Grossman, a Michigan State University political science professor, spotlighted the state’s “unique dynamics” as he pointed to Harris’ perceived “weakness” with Arab American voters as well as the state’s sizable Black electorate.

Michigan is one of seven crucial swing states whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump. And all seven states are likely to determine if Harris or Trump wins November’s election to succeed Biden in the White House.

Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are the three Rust Belt states that make up the Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall.”

The party reliably won all three states for a quarter-century before Trump narrowly captured them in the 2016 election to win the White House.

Four years later, in 2020, Biden carried all three states by razor-thin margins to put them back in the Democrats’ column and defeated Trump.

Harris, who in July replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, and Trump — as well as their running mates — have made numerous stops in the Blue Wall states this summer and autumn, and both campaigns and allied groups have built up get-out-the Rust Belt battlegrounds.

And on Friday evening, both Harris and Trump were scheduled to be campaigning in and around Detroit. 

The vice president was holding a rally in suburban Oakland County, while the former president was also in the county for a roundtable discussion in Auburn Hills before headlining a rally in downtown Detroit.

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With Michigan a must win state for Harris, she is spending the night and holding a get-out-the-vote event on Saturday in Detroit with Lizzo, a popular singer and rapper who was born in the Motor City.

Lizzo revealed this week that she had voted early for Harris.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t hold back on pro-life protesters as she talked to her supporters about expanding abortion rights at her campaign stop in Wisconsin on Thursday, just hours before she skipped the Al Smith Catholic charity dinner.

“We will move forward because ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom — for freedom. Like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do,” Harris said to the crowd.

“And again, we’re not going to be gaslighted on this. We remember Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did as he intended,” she added.

VP HARRIS RIPPED BY VICTIM OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED UNDER HER PROGRAM OVER RESURFACED SPEECH

Harris was then interrupted by anti-abortion protesters and said, “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” as she flashed a grin.

“I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street,” she added — referring to former President Trump’s — as rallygoers erupted in cheers. 

On social media, users speculated Harris was responding to a particular attendee who shouted, “Jesus is Lord.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

The rally came as Harris skipped the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City. The dinner was launched in 1946 and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children. 

It has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons, but Harris surprised many by skipping the bipartisan political event that typically adds a bit of levity to the campaign trail each presidential election cycle. 

Harris was the first major-party presidential contender since Walter Mondale in 1984 to skip the event.

Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s campaign reportedly amplified attempts to disparage Republican opponent Tim Sheehy’s business ahead of the election, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Sheehy, the Navy SEAL Republican Senate candidate seeking to oust vulnerable Tester from the Senate this cycle, was the CEO of veteran-founded Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based company that builds aerial firefighting aircraft. The Navy SEAL has since stepped back from his role in the company amid his Senate campaign. 

The Wall Street Journal released a scathing report Friday calling out Tester’s re-election campaign for suggesting that Sheehy’s business, which consists of local Montana employees and stockholders, is “failing.”

Marc Cohodes, a short seller, and several Tester donors reportedly sent a letter to the Small Business Administration calling for an investigation into Sheehy’s business over “false statements” on a federal form, the WSJ reported. Cohodes was featured in an NBC report in August suggesting that Bridger could face financial collapse.

MONTANA SENATE POLL FINDS DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT TRAILING GOP CHALLENGER, WITH CONTROL OF SENATE IN BALANCE

What was reportedly left out of several reports against Sheehy’s business was that the “false statement” was the result of an employee accidentally selecting the “SDB” (socially disadvantaged business) box instead of the intended “SDVOSB” (service-disabled veteran-owned business) box.

The Gallatin Commission responded to the claims and suggested they were “politically-motivated inquiries.”

“We believe these concerns stem from a misunderstanding of conduit private activity bonds, which are a common tool of capitalization in the national bond market. To clarify, Gallatin County has no liability exposure related to Bridger Aerospace’s business operations,” the county said in a statement.

Cohodes, however, told the Montana Free Press in August that Sheehy’s business is “going to go broke.”

VULNERABLE DEM JON TESTER TURNS ON BIDEN ADMIN OVER DEI AFTER MONTANA UNIVERSITIES STRIPPED OF FEDERAL FUNDS

Tester’s own campaign has since released a campaign ad claiming the company, which local residents in his state own stock in, is “failing,” the WSJ reported.

Sheehy’s campaign put out a statement following the report, saying that “there is low and then there is Jon Tester.”

“We know Jon Tester is losing and now the Wall Street Journal is pulling back the curtain on Tester’s brazen political warfare against a Montana business. Jon Tester is so desperate to continue his life as a career politician he is endangering the livelihoods of Montanans by trying to bankrupt the company his opponent started even though Tim Sheehy is no longer CEO,” the campaign said in a statement.

Bridger Chairman Jeffrey Keltersays told the WSJ that Bridger “is a Montana company with 200 employees and a mission to protect lives and property, whose growth trajectory has been consistently great.”

President Biden has gone silent on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s push for permission from its Western partners to use long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP ranking member on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, shared with FOX that he is concerned that Biden does not intend to make any decision on Zelenskyy’s top request, saying that the administration had gone quiet.

Wicker noted that after Biden’s recent visit to Berlin that was supposed to advocate for further Ukraine support, the president made zero major announcements.

ZELENSKYY VICTORY PLAN: REPLACE US TROOPS AT OUTPOSTS IN EUROPE WITH BATTLE-HARDENED UKRAINIANS

The Mississippi senator sent Biden a letter with ten recommendations to place Ukraine in the most advantageous position for Biden’s successor.

PUTIN WARNS US, NATO RISK WAR WITH RUSSIA IF LONG-RANGE STRIKE BANS LIFTED FOR UKRAINE

“I am frustrated – and mystified – that your administration has accomplished so little in the last three months regarding the war in Ukraine. You seem poised to leave the next president a weak hand,” Wicker wrote in his letter to Biden. “Nonetheless, I maintain that a focused effort – directed by you – could make a substantial difference over your final 90 days as president.”

READ THE LETTER– APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

UKRAINE DEFENSE MINISTER CONFIDENT CAN REPLENISH TROOPS BUT IN NEED OF WEAPONS, EQUIPMENT FROM ALLIES

Kyiv has been pleading with America for permission to use long-range missiles supplied by the West to hit air bases deep inside Russia from where aircraft are flying missions to target towns and cities in Ukraine with “glide bombs”.

In an overnight address following Biden’s visit to Berlin, Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for their continued support.

“Last night, I spoke with President Biden. Many issues were covered. I am grateful for the new support package. 425 million dollars is the amount. This is air defense – our special priority,” he said.  “We also talked about our upcoming packages. President Biden gave me his word that the package will be implemented in the near future. We spoke about long-range weapons.”