For Steve Bullock, Progressive Turnout Project building Montana ground game

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Monday threw his hat into the Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Steve Daines, giving Democrats a high-profile recruit in the red state.

And the Progressive Turnout Project is building a field operation to help him, as Democrats think a win could tilt the Senate in their favor.

Mr. Bullock is not a progressive’s dream candidate, but the group is boosting him anyway. The Progressive Turnout Project said it has opened six offices and hired 26 field staff in Montana with an initial investment of $750,000 in response to Mr. Bullock’s decision to enter the race.

“We’ll be focusing specifically on infrequent Democratic voters that are typically under-prioritized by other outside groups, to better boost turnout and Steve Bullock’s chances in the fall,” said Alex Morgan, the executive director of the Progressive Turnout Project, in a statement. “In our models, a win in Montana puts Democrats over the top in the race to secure the Senate, and we’ll be on the ground to make that happen.”

The group said it is eyeing 34,000 young Montana voters, particularly women, and believes 12,000 voters who skipped the 2016 and 2018 elections could lift Mr. Bullock’s chances in November.

It says its models suggest it will turn out more than 12,000 voters for Mr. Bullock, but he likely will need to do better than that in November. Mr. Daines won election in 2014 by about 18 percentage points, more than 65,000 votes, over his Democratic opponent, while President Trump won Montana in 2016 by more than 20 points.

Mr. Bullock, who ended his long-shot presidential run in December, had repeatedly said he wasn’t interested in running for Senate but was apparently won over by national Democrats urging him to take a second look at a potential bid. He is term-limited from running for governor again.

Republicans hold an effective 53-47 majority in the Senate but are playing defense in a number of states, including Iowa, North Carolina and Arizona.

And former Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s rise to becoming the Democratic front-runner has expanded the horizon of liberal targets to Big Sky country.

With Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders’ presidential campaign slipping and Mr. Biden’s star rising, Mr. Bullock’s move on Monday could be a harbinger of things to come for Democrats looking to run in red states.

Republicans have prepared for Mr. Bullock’s entrance into the Senate race. The Senate Leadership Fund, an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, ran a five-figure digital ad campaign in November 2019 attacking Mr. Bullock because of his prospective Senate campaign.

Conservative groups also have begun shifting resources to help Mr. Daines defend against Mr. Bullock. The Susan B. Anthony List said Monday it would workers stationed in Montana to boost turnout and spend money on digital ads in support of Mr. Daines, the founder of the Senate’s pro-life caucus.

⦁ David Sherfinski contributed to this report.