Tim Sheehy may turn the Senate red. But is he really a successful businessman?

On Friday, Donald Trump is scheduled to headline a rally in Bozeman, Montana, for Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL who’s running for Senate there as a Republican. Aiming to unseat three-term Democratic incumbent Jon Tester, Sheehy is founder of Montana-based Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting company. A win by Sheehy, a decorated combat veteran, could flip the Senate red.

Sheehy, 38, promises “to fight for every hardworking Montanan and their family” and points to his job creation and entrepreneurial skills as among his qualifications for the Senate. Recent events at his company tell a more nuanced story and raise questions about the firm’s viability, its executive pay and its efforts to obtain government contracts.

Bridger, founded in 2014 and based at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, operates specially equipped planes that scoop up water and drop it on fires. Bridger has 15 aircraft, employs 148 people and its units have fire-suppression and transportation contracts with the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service, a part of the Agriculture Department, documents show. 

On July 1, Sheehy resigned as chief executive of Bridger to focus on his Senate campaign; the company is seeking a replacement.

“Tim is proud of the successful company he created, the jobs he created, and he is proud to be an active firefighting pilot protecting our communities and our public lands,” Katie Martin, Sheehy’s press secretary, said in a statement. She declined to make Sheehy available for an interview.

For a contest far from Wall Street, Sheehy’s campaign has attracted the attention of some of finance’s biggest names, including Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of Citadel LLC, the hedge fund and trading powerhouse. Last fall, Griffin donated $5 million to a Super PAC called “More Jobs, Less Government” that has spent almost $11 million this year, or 96% of its receipts, supporting Sheehy, Federal Election Commission records show. They also show that Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder of The Blackstone Group, a New York City-based private-equity giant that invested in Bridger, has given $5 million to the “More Jobs” Super PAC over the past year.

“Tim Sheehy cares deeply about America and has an extraordinary record of achievement as a decorated Navy Seal, rancher, and proven business leader,” Griffin said in a statement provided by a spokesperson.

In mid-June, an editorial in The Wall Street Journal echoed Griffin’s view, branding Sheehy’s company Bridger a success.

Bridger’s filings with the federal government, however, undercut that acclaim. A few weeks before the glowing editorial, a May securities filing by the company noted “substantial doubt” about Bridger’s ability to continue operating as a “going concern” over the next year. More bad news came July 1 when Bridger warned that investors could not rely on its 2023 financial statement because it had materially miscalculated an earnings per share measure and would need to restate its results. Bridger also recently warned in regulatory filings that it was not in compliance with financial performance measures it promised to buyers of $160 million in industrial development bonds that it sold in 2022. One such measure: how much money the company is generating to service its debt. If the situation continues, the company said in the filing, it could result in a default on the bonds.

Marc Cohodes, a veteran money manager and Montana resident known among market participants for making bets against companies he believes to be overvalued, questioned Bridger’s prospects. A resident of Gallatin County, where Bridger is headquartered, Cohodes says he’s opining because Sheehy’s claims of business feats don’t add up. 

“Bridger Aerospace has been a success for insiders and the Park Avenue billionaires at Blackstone,” said Cohodes, who added that he has no stake in the firm’s stock. “Meanwhile, the company’s shareholders and bondholders are holding the bag. How does that help hardworking Montanans and their families?”