Tester, Trump lead in new Montana poll

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and former President Trump are both leading their top competitors among voters in Montana, according to a new Emerson College Polling survey.

The survey found 39 percent of Montana voters support Tester’s reelection bid, compared to 35 percent who back Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy.

Another 6 percent said they plan to cast their ballots for another candidate, and 21 percent were still undecided.

In a hypothetical 2024 match-up with President Biden, who is also running for reelection, Trump leads with 49 percent to the incumbent’s 28 percent.

Another 16 percent said they support someone else, and 7 percent were still undecided.

“Voters split their ticket on the U.S. Senate and presidential elections in 2024,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement.

According to the report, 12 percent of Trump voters plan to split their ticket and back Democrat Tester in 2024. Kimball noted this is spurred by Tester’s support among independents and women in the state.

“There is a significant gender divide among Montana voters,” Kimball said. Tester leads Sheehy among women by 16 points, 46 percent to 30 percent, whereas Sheehy leads among men by 8 points, 40 percent to 32 percent, Kimball explained.

Republicans are eyeing Tester’s seat in the Senate as an opportunity to boost their numbers in the upper chamber in 2024.

But in the third quarter fundraising numbers released this week, the incumbent Democrat saw promising figures, raking in more than $5 million for his reelection bid, compared to Sheehy’s roughly $2.8 million.

The Emerson College Polling survey, conducted Oct. 1-4, of 447 registered voters had a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.

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