Montana’s Democrat Senator OFFERS College Student’s PAYOUTS For VOTES

Daily Report August 30,2024

Substantial payouts have been offered to Montana college students in exchange for endorsing Democrat Senator Jon Tester.

University of Montana track and field sprinter Lily Meskers said she received the offer along with other athletes from the school over this past summer.

On the air with “Montana Talks,” Meskers, a junior journalism student, described an offer that suggested supporters of Tester were getting scared — and not without reason.

One of these stances included Tester’s opposition to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, a bill that would ensure protections for female athletes by establishing standards.

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Tester is locked in a competitive re-election race against GOP nominee Tim Sheehy, an ex-Navy SEAL endorsed by former President Trump. The NIL offer came to universities from Montana Together, a campaign ally of Tester’s gubernatorial opponent, Meskers said.

From an email written by Montana Together, which was acquired by the National Desk: “Let’s work to educate your audience on Senator Tester’s record in office and urge him to take care of these key policies.” The email also listed LGBT Rights, Reproductive Care and The Economy as topics for promotion.

The agreement, around any of four unscripted Instagram Reels to market Tester for involving $400 and as many as $2,four hundred according to university athletefps_meskers said. The email was then forwarded along to the student-athletes from Jean Gee, the senior associate athletic director for external affairs — who encouraged them all to “spread[ ]the word” about Tester and any “causes you care about.

Considering Tester’s record on women’s sports, there were some athletes taken aback by his offer. Senior track athlete Katie Whitehurst had this to say about the offer: “I believe trans-identifying women should not be in female sports competitions and this seemed politically motivated towards one political party.”

Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and women’s sports advocate who was quoted by Meskers at the rally in Whitefish, Montana said ”This is the most anti-woman, anti-reality pursuit we have seen from this administration… Montanans are no different; they can put two ideas together; men and women are not equal’.”

Tester has campaigned throughout the “solidly red state” of Montana,” starting a group called “Republicans for Tester” and refusing to support Vice President Kamala Harris during her presidential run.