Trump-backed Senate candidate facing financial ruin as he touts his business success

Businessman Tim Sheehy, who is seeking Democratic Sen. Jon Tester's seat in the U.S. Senate representing Montana, is on the verge of watching the business he started and touts as his main qualification for the job collapse because his company can't pay its bills.

Sheehy, who was already under scrutiny dating back to April over his claims about when he served as a Navy SEAL, was a focal point of Donald Trump's trip to Montana on Friday for his own campaign appearance this week as presidential opponent Vice President Kamala Harris barnstorms the country with her running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).

The morning after Trump's rally with Sheehy, the Washington Post is reporting that Sheehy's publicly traded firefighting company is bleeding cash with one director bailing and making accusations about internal auditing discrepancies.

According to the Post's Beth Reinhard and Jonathan O'Connell, Sheehy has made the success of his company a selling point as he tries to unseat Tester in the deep read state.

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However, his company's financials paint a far from rosy picture.

According to the report, the "success story" of Bridger Aerospace that Sheehy has been touting, "is facing a cash crunch so dire that there is 'substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue.'"

"The company lost $77.4 million last year and $20.1 million in the first three months of 2024. Several directors have left, including one who flagged concerns about internal auditing, as an unusually slow wildfire season in 2023 put the company at risk of defaulting on its debt," the Post is reporting while also pointing out that Sheehy stepped away from the company last month to devote more time to his campaign.

According to investment analyst Vince Martin, who reviewed the SEC filings, "The business has disappointed. As a result,they don’t have a ton of room for error.”

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In response to the Washington Post report, Sheehy's campaign issued a statement that said, "Tim is proud of the successful company he created, the jobs he created, and he is proud to be an active firefighting pilot protecting our communities and our public lands.”

At Trump's Montana rally on Friday night, the former president praised Sheehy and told the crowd, "He better win."

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