GREAT FALLS, Mont. — President Trump’s unrelenting attacks on this state’s Democratic senator have landed with a boom, drawing the attention of voters and those fighting to keep GOP control of the Senate.
Trump’s fierce criticism — calling Sen. Jon Tester “dishonest and sick,” saying he knows things about the senator that would make him unelectable — has jolted Republicans to life in a race that has long been seen as just out of their reach. GOP groups are running advertisements parroting Trump’s complaints, and candidates echo him on the trail. A top donor is giving the race a closer look.
But it’s unclear whether that will be the potent weapon Republican strategists are hoping for, even in a state Trump won by more than 20 points.