Republican Tim Sheehy unseated Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana’s 2024 Senate race, The Associated Press projects, marking a significant victory for Republicans this election cycle.

The Montana Senate seat has been identified as the clearest path for Republicans to retake the Senate majority, with polls predicting Sheehy would overtake Tester. In return, the race turned out to be one of the most expensive this year. According to Fox News$309 had been spent on each voter by the end of October, for a total of $243.3 million.

By the time Sheehy was declared the winner on Wednesday, November 6, The Republicans had already obtained the majority in the Senate for the upcoming 119th Congress after a surprise victory in Ohio which Sherrod Brown, the dethroned outgoing Democrat.

Tester, 68, has represented Montana in the Senate since 2006, when he flipped the seat blue for the first time since 1988. He has served on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Senate Committee of Indian Affairs, and he previously served as President of the Montana State Senate.

A farmer and former music teacher, Tester received generally positive marks throughout his Senate tenure, but increased national partisanship made his seat more difficult to defend this time around in a deeply conservative state.

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Tester reportedly considered retiring from politics, but announced in February 2023 that he would run for re-election, according to Policy. He has expressed support for protecting women’s reproductive freedoms and has been ranked among the most effective lawmakers in Washington, D.C., according to The Center for Effective Legislation.

However, his vote to convict was less popular in Montana. Donald Trump78 years, for the two impeachment trials of the former president. He refused to approve Kamala Harris for the presidency in 2024, Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

Sheehy, 38, emerged as a strong contender for the Republican Party when he secured the nomination in June.

Sheehy, Minnesota-born veteran and businessman praised during the campaign trial, he “built one of the largest aerial firefighting companies in America” ​​and “started a veteran-run cattle breeding and feeding operation.”

The father of four presented himself as an anti-choice candidate, but says he is in favor of IVF. He gained support from Trump.