Poll shows Tester, Sheehy running neck and neck

New polling results released Wednesday show Democratic Sen. Jon Tester with a narrow, but statistically insignificant, lead over Republican Tim Sheehy in a theoretical matchup eight months before Election Day, and also that Gov. Greg Gianforte has a neutral approval rating as he starts his re-election bid.

The Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll also shows former President Donald Trump with a wide lead over President Joe Biden in what is almost certain to be the presidential matchup, and signals that a subset of Montana voters is considering voting for both Trump and Tester come November.

The poll was conducted Feb. 26 through March 2 via text message-to-web and email polling, along with an online survey of voters. The sample includes 1,000 registered Montana voters weighted based on turnout and voter registration data, along with voters’ gender, age, party, race and education, though one-tenth of respondents also said they did not vote in 2020. Fifty-seven of those who did not vote four years ago are in the 18-29 age range.