Here’s How Tim Sheehy Pulled Off the Big Win in Montana

I had an incredible company commander when I served in Iraq. On our way out of Iraq, I interviewed him in a piece that got published by Infantry magazine. He talked about how "war will always be a human endeavor."

We focus so much on all the gear, the F-18s, the up-armor,” he said. “In the end, when you strip it down, this is a person-to-person commitment won by individual Soldiers at the lowest tactical level — the team leaders, squad leaders, and platoon leaders.

That quote came to mind as Navy SEAL veteran Tim Sheehy (R-MT) credited the campaign on the ground for his big victory over three-term Democrat Senator Jon Tester (D-MT).

Aaron Flint: How did we win? Why did we win? From your standpoint.

Senator Elect Tim Sheehy: "Go back to common sense. People were voting for what's good for them and their communities and families and businesses. And what was good for them was, of course, the America First agenda. But how we reminded people of that- because, as you said, it was so hard to punch through the noise and the media when they have a narrative. You know, they're not interested in truth, they're interested in their narrative, and they will push that narrative, and they'll cherry pick facts to support that narrative. And how we beat that was a tremendous ground game. You know, our campaign organically, all 56 counties, multiple times all over the state. We knew we couldn't trust our message to be filtered through social media or the media, so we delivered it directly from my mouth to their ears, in person, every time. And then we had these amazing groups like Americans for Prosperity, Susan B Anthony, Young Republicans who literally hit the ground, knocked every door, literally a ground game, one door at a time, one neighborhood at a time, every single town, and said- listen, here's the information. Here's a piece of paper that's showing the data behind this election and these policies. You need to know the facts, and here's how you have to support the policies that are important to you. And that ground game, you know, overcame a three to four to one funding disadvantage. It overcame the power of a very entrenched and senior incumbent. It overcame the power of the entire media complex arrayed against it. And it just goes back to show, you know, that ground game matters. Just like you and I learned during the war. You can have all the technology in the world and have all the money in the world, but at the end of the day, ground game is what wins, and that's what won this election."

Here's the full audio of our chat with Tim Sheehy Thursday morning: