Waiting to vote tested the willpower of hundreds of people in an hourslong line that stretched outside a county courthouse in a Montana town.

Republican Tim Sheehy will defeat three-term Montana Sen. Jon Tester, CNN projects, boosting the GOP’s hopes of claiming the Senate majority.

The Fox News Decision Desk projects Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte will be re-elected to serve a second term as Montana governor, defeating Democratic nominee Ryan Busse.

NBC News projects Tim Sheehy has won the seat held by Jon Tester, a three-term Democratic incumbent, in a state that has shifted in Republicans’ direction in recent years.

The state was one of 10 that voted on abortion-related ballot measures in the 2024 election. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the landmark Dobbs decision two years ago, a growing number of states have responded by passing their own laws codifying the right to abortion.

Republican Tim Sheehy triumphed over third-term Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in Montana’s crucial Senate race, expanding the GOP majority in the Senate. Sheehy led Tester 53%-45% when the race was called by the Associated Press at 6:26 a.m. EST on Wednesday.

Republican Tim Sheehy shaved Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s margins in Montana’s populous counties and ran up his lead in the state’s more rural regions

Incumbent Live analysis of the results › Share full article Source: Election results and race calls are from The Associated Press. By The New York Times election results team: Michael Andre, Emma Baker,

A costly campaign by abortion-rights advocates for state supreme court seats yielded mixed results in Tuesday’s election, with Republicans expanding their majority on Ohio’s court while candidates backed by progressive groups won in Montana and Michigan.

Jon Tester lost his race to retain his U.S. Senate seat in Montana to Tim Sheehy, part of a massive Election Day for the GOP.