Dem
51
GOP
49
The NRSC has sought out and encouraged out-of-state millionaire businessmen to run for the Senate in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Montana, and elsewhere. It's their go-to trick because then they don't have to put any money in the race. The candidate supplies it all. Current polling shows that is working badly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and is threatening to go south in Montana, the NRSC's best chance at a pickup, as well. The (theoretical) attraction is that the voters will be dazzled by the fact that the candidate is really rich because he is a brilliant businessman and somehow being a brilliant businessman translates into being a good senator, even if the guy lives in a different state.
Unfortunately for the NRSC, their carpetbagger candidate in Montana may have a problem. The millionaire businessman from Minnesota running in Montana, Tim Sheehy, who may have violated federal law by lying to a National Park ranger about a gun discharge, formed and owns an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. Putting out wildfires sounds dramatic and more socially useful than a hedge fund that buys up struggling companies, sells off all the assets, and leaves the workers with no jobs, the state with no tax receipts, and the other stockholders with no value in their investment. But the hedge fund stockholders make out like bandits and pay low taxes due to a special deal for them in the tax code.
Now the problem. Bridger Aerospace lost $77 million last year and $47 million the previous year. It also has $8 million in the bank, a debt of $205 million, and it probably can't pay an upcoming interest payment of $18 million on that debt. It is also not in compliance with various financial agreements it has, including one with the county government that floated a bond issue to pay for a bigger hangar and more airplanes for the company. It laid off about 10% of its workforce this year. Although Sheehy is a big champion of rugged individualism, 88% of the company's revenues come from government contracts. Oh, and in an SEC filing, management wrote that there is "substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern" (English translation: There is a good chance the company will go bankrupt this year or next).
Running a potentially viable company (and one whose services are often needed as a result of climate change) into the ground doesn't instantly speak to the idea that the out-of-state CEO deserves to be a senator. Expect Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who is a third generation Montana farmer, to bring up some of Sheehy's management skills in the next couple of months. Will it help him? Montana is a deep red state and it takes a lot for a Republican to throw away his built-in lead. Plus, you could argue that Sheehy actually fits the current-day GOP definition of "successful businessman" to a T. Did he ever host a reality TV show? (V)