Helena commission candidate wished cancer and death to Sen. Tim Sheehy in a July voice message, report says

A Helena city commission candidate left a phone message for Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy in July, wishing that he contract pancreatic cancer and “die in the street like a dog,” according to a national news outlet’s coverage Monday.

Haley McKnight, in an interview with Montana Free Press Monday, acknowledged leaving the message but maintained she was speaking out in a ”justified rage,” in response to the senator’s politics. 

McKnight is one of four candidates vying for two seats on the Helena City Commission. The nonpartisan election is Tuesday. The election is largely held by mail, and 32% of ballots had been returned as of last week, according to elections officials.

On Monday, the National Review published a story recounting the voice message left at the senator’s Helena office by McKnight. The story, which didn’t reveal how the Review learned of the message, was brought to the attention of Montana newsrooms through a press release sent Monday from Sheehy’s office. 

The voice message, which was left July 1, was in response to Congress advancing the Trump administration-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana, and I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief,” McKnight said, according to the recording posted to the National Review’s website. “You just stripped away health care for 17 million Americans. And I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it. I hope that you die in the street like a dog. I…oooooohh. One day you’re gonna live to regret this.”

The recording continues, “God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets, because I will make you regret it. F-ck you. I hope you die.”

McKnight Monday doubled down on her message and her reasons for leaving it.

“ I don’t regret anything that I said, only that I probably shouldn’t have used so many cuss words,” McKnight said. “[It’s] not very becoming of me, but yeah, I was speaking out of a justified rage for what our senator has done to erode our Constitution and erode the benefits of Montana’s people through his actions.”

McKnight did specify Monday that she doesn’t wish the senator any harm and that there is “no reason” for him to fear her. She said the voice message was not meant as a threat.

McKnight added that she had already filed for the city commission candidacy at the time she left the message and that local voters should know she will voice her opinions and fight for what she is passionate about, even if the delivery is offensive.

“ I’m a firebrand. I’m gonna say what I think. It might not always be polished, but it’s always gonna come from the heart. I’m running because I wanna fight for what I believe in, and I wanna fight for our people.” 

While Helena’s municipal elections are nonpartisan, McKnight said she believes that the timing of the story was politically motivated. McKnight also said that she received numerous death threats since the publication of the National Review article.  

“ I think Tim Sheehy absolutely knew that this was the consequence, and he is using it in any way that he can to bully and harass me,” McKnight said.

Asked about the timing of the voicemail’s release, Jack O’Brien, a Sheehy spokesperson, said in an email that the senator’s office had only recently become aware of the voicemail and had contacted law enforcement.

“We hope Ms. McKnight gets the help she clearly needs,” O’Brien said.

Tom Lutey contributed to this reporting

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