October 27, 2025
Will the Democratic Party Keep Learning the Wrong Lessons?
By Nic Wong
As an intern for Jon Tester’s campaign, I saw a disconnect between our claim to authentic Montanan populism and the reality on the ground. In 2025, we need something different.
In late June 2024, a group of concerned residents in Billings, Montana, gathered near I-90 for a protest. The dissenters—30 in total—were upset with Tim Sheehy, the Republican candidate in the state’s highly contested Senate race.
The group chanted “public lands in public hands,” nodding to Sheehy’s fenced-off hunting ranches. They held up signs calling out “Shady Sheehy” and telling him “Don’t Minnesota My Montana,” a reference to his former residence in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Later that day, one of the communications officials for Jon Tester, Sheehy’s opponent, celebrated on X that “Billings residents came out to tell Tim Sheehy hands off their public lands!”
In truth, though, there were almost no real Billings residents at the protest. Among the 30 people who showed up were at least 20 Tester campaign staffers from all over the country and a few interns, myself included. My job that week had been to recruit local Montanan protesters. Though our campaign argued that Tester was the “authentic” Montana candidate, maybe five actual Montanans showed.
I saw the same trend every day of our campaign—a disconnect between our claim to authentic Montanan populism and the reality on the ground.
