LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Now to Montana, a key battleground state for control of the U.S. Senate this year. Tribal leaders there are demanding an apology from the Republican nominee. Yellowstone Public Radio's Jackie Coffin reports from Billings.
JACKIE COFFIN, BYLINE: Native Americans in Montana have reliably voted for Democrats for decades, helping Jon Tester win three terms in the U.S. Senate. Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy is recently polling slightly ahead of Tester but also now defending himself after comments he made at a couple of private fundraisers were leaked to the media. Here's one about a trip to the Crow Reservation for a cattle branding event.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TIM SHEEHY: Great way to bond with all the Indians out there while they're drunk at 8 a.m. and you're roping together this - (laughter).
COFFIN: Sheehy said that last November. In August, the Char-Koosta News, a publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation, posted the audio online. The source of the audio has not identified themselves, but Sheehy's campaign has not disputed the authenticity of the recording.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROW TRIBE DRUM CIRCLE)
COFFIN: On Thursday, Indigenous leaders held a press conference kicked off by a Crow drum circle.
BRYCE KIRK: You know, we promote love, unity, respect. We're not drunks. We're a lot more things than what he said.
COFFIN: Bryce Kirk, who is Assiniboine-Sioux, is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, which represents 12 tribal nations in three states.
KIRK: My message to Tim Sheehy is to apologize, is to say I'm sorry. For once, let your pride aside and sit there and say, I'm sorry for the remarks that I made. I'm sorry for what I said.
COFFIN: So far, the Sheehy campaign has not responded publicly to tribal leaders. Soon after the audio was leaked, a campaign spokesperson told the Associated Press, quote, "what folks are insinuating about him, that's just not who he is," end quote.
Indigenous people make up about 7% of Montana's population, a significant voting bloc in a race that's expected to be decided by a very slim margin. Incumbent Jon Tester's campaign has not commented on the leaked Tim Sheehy audio. Sylvan Covers Up, a member of the Crow tribe, says Native people are willing to give Sheehy a chance.
SYLVAN COVERS UP: He's probably a swell guy. You know, he's a veteran. I respect him for that.
COFFIN: But he says the leaked comments are not good for the candidate.
COVERS UP: And they talk about it at different powwows now, and so it's making a mark. He's making a bad name for himself by doing that.
COFFIN: Republican Tim Sheehy and incumbent Democrat Jon Tester are set to hold the second and final scheduled debate of their campaigns on September 30.
For NPR News, I'm Jackie Coffin in Billings.
(SOUNDBITE OF PALO SANTO'S "GRAYSON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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