Montana city commissioner candidate Haley McKnight is under fire after leaving an explicit voicemail for freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., in which she wished him cancer and threatened that he’d “regret it” if they ever met on the street.
The message, obtained by Fox News Digital, was left in July — just days after Sheehy voted for the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package that drew sharp criticism from Democrats. “Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I'm a constituent in Helena, Montana,” the message began. “I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief… I hope you get pancreatic cancer and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can't even treat you for it.”
McKnight’s tirade escalated as she hurled personal insults and threats, including, “I hope you die in the street like a dog… God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it.” She accused Sheehy of serving his “own private interests” instead of Montanans.
McKnight, who owns the Sage & Oats Trading Post and runs a design firm, is running for Helena City Commission in what is technically a nonpartisan race. She’s volunteered for Democratic campaigns in the past and has donated to several Democratic candidates, according to public records.
When confronted about the voicemail, McKnight told Fox News Digital that her outburst was “justified rage” in response to Sheehy’s policies. “I would hope that if Sheehy was so rattled by my voicemail, he would have contacted me instead of leaking my information to conservative news media the night before an election,” she said.
She denied intending any real threat, saying, “I obviously had no intent of hurting Sheehy. I couldn’t, I’m a woman.” McKnight claimed she was trying to “convey the gravity of the situation” and highlight “the struggles people are going through because of his policies.”
Pressed on whether she regretted her language amid rising political violence, McKnight replied, “No comment on that.” She also alleged she’s since received “numerous death and rape threats” following publication of her voicemail.
“This is completely politically motivated,” she said, calling Sheehy’s decision to publicize her message “a cheap shot the night before an election.”
McKnight finished third in the city’s nonpartisan primary earlier this year and is competing in the November general election. Montana has no major statewide races this cycle.