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Montana City Commissioner Candidate Who Threatened Senator Fails in Election Bid
A Helena, Montana city commissioner candidate who made national headlines for threatening Republican Senator Tim Sheehy failed to win one of the two available seats in Tuesday’s local election. Haley McKnight, who garnered only 20% of the vote, finished third in a field of four candidates.
McKnight came under intense scrutiny earlier this week when audio of an expletive-filled voicemail she left for Senator Sheehy in July became public. The recording revealed McKnight wishing a painful cancer death upon the senator and making personal threats following his vote on a Republican tax and spending package.
“I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it,” McKnight said in the voicemail. She continued with insults about Sheehy’s fertility and children before warning him not to “meet me on the streets” and stating, “I hope you die in the street like a dog.”
When questioned about the recording by Fox News Digital, McKnight declined to say whether she stood by her rhetoric. She did, however, claim that her intention was not to threaten the senator but to “drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies.”
McKnight suggested the timing of the voicemail’s release was politically motivated, though Senator Sheehy’s office told local news that they had only recently become aware of the message sent over the summer.
In the Helena city commissioner race, Melinda Reed led with 36.5% of the vote, followed by Ben Rigby with 31.2%, securing the two available positions. McKnight’s 20% put her well behind the winners, while the fourth-place candidate received 11.5% of the vote.
The local election took place amid a broader political context in which Democrats performed strongly nationwide. The party secured high-profile gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey, along with wins in numerous down-ballot races across the country. However, this “blue wave” did not extend to McKnight’s candidacy in Montana.
The incident highlights the increasingly heated political rhetoric in American politics, even at local levels. Political discourse experts have expressed concern about the normalization of violent language in campaigns, noting potential consequences for civic engagement and democratic institutions.
Montana, a traditionally Republican-leaning state where Sheehy serves as a freshman senator, has seen increasing political tensions as national partisan divides filter down to state and local politics. Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL who entered Congress this year, has become a target of criticism from progressive activists in the state over his voting record.
When asked after the election whether she believed her controversial voicemail had any impact on the outcome, McKnight again responded with “no comment.”
The election results underscore that even in an environment where Democrats performed well nationally, candidates whose rhetoric crosses into personal threats may face electoral consequences regardless of party affiliation.
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7 Comments
This candidate’s actions and rhetoric are completely unacceptable in a civil democracy. Threatening violence and wishing death on a political opponent crosses a line and undermines the democratic process.
While political disagreements can run deep, it’s crucial that candidates maintain a basic level of respect and decorum. This candidate’s behavior was clearly over the line, and the voters have spoken.
The outcome of this election shows that voters value civility and constructive political discourse, even at the local level. Resorting to threats and vitriol is a sure way to lose the public’s trust.
Exactly. This should be a wake-up call for any politicians who think they can win by stoking division and hostility. Voters want leaders who will bring people together, not tear them apart.
It’s good to see the voters in this community reject a candidate who resorts to such unethical and undemocratic tactics. Hopefully this serves as a lesson that these kinds of tactics have no place in local politics.
While it’s understandable to be passionate about political issues, stooping to personal attacks and threats is never the right way to engage. Voters have clearly rejected this candidate’s extremist approach.
Agreed. Voters want leaders who can disagree respectfully and focus on the issues, not engage in toxic personal attacks.