Dem Candidate’s Loss of life Menace Backfires, Leads To Crushing Electoral Defeat
A Democratic Party lawmaker suffered a crushing electoral defeat and is out of her job after sending an unhinged, threatening voicemail to Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) this past July.
The voicemail, which was sent shortly after Sheehy and the majority of his Republican colleagues advanced the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” spending package that enshrined a number of the president’s most important campaign promises, was sent by Haley McKnight, a candidate for city commissioner in the Montana capital of Helena.
“Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,” McKnight began in her message, which was obtained and reviewed by Fox News. “I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare 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.”
During the roughly minute-long voicemail, which was sent on July 1, McKnight went on to direct her rage towards Sheehy’s personal health and the wellbeing of his family before warning the senator “not to meet me on the streets.”
The voicemail had wide-reaching consequences for McKnight, including an electoral wipeout and professional consequences
“I hope you die in the street like a dog,” McKnight continued. “One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again. You are the worst piece of s*** I have ever, ever, ever had the misfortune of looking at … God forbid that you ever meet me on the streets because I will make you regret it. F*** you. I hope you die.”
McKnight, originally from North Carolina, works at a small business called Sage & Oats Trading Post, which she describes as “a successful Native American-owned gift store” on her campaign website. She also runs a consulting and design business called Morningstar Design Ltd Co, and is the president and a board member of the Helena Young Professionals group, Fox News reported.
Federal Election Commission records show that she has donated to multiple Democratic Party candidates in the past. She also touted her support for former President Barack Obama and touted her campaign work for former Montana congressional candidate Steve Held, a Democrat.
“I’m a constituent, and I was responding to some horrible policy with some justified rage,” McKnight told Fox News when asked for comment. “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. It feels like a cheap shot. I’m one of his constituents, and you know, this message is nothing that I’d say to my grandmother or in front of any children, it was meant for Senator Sheehy alone.”
HOLY CRAP
Helena City, Montana Commission Candidate Haley McKnight, reportedly left this voicemail for Senator Tim Sheehy (R) telling him she hopes he gets cancer and diespic.twitter.com/MnXfcpKlRo
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 4, 2025
She went on to claim backlash to her comments was “laughable” and should be treated as general feedback. “I also would have thought that somebody from the armed forces could have handled some tough language,” McKnight added. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who was wounded while serving in Afghanistan.
Ultimately, McKnight’s comments proved disastrous in the traditionally nonpartisan Helena city commissioners’ race, as she came in third place with just 20 percent of the vote. This eliminated McKnight for consideration for either of the two seats up for grabs.
The owners of Sage & Oats Trading Post also announced that McKnight had been fired in a statement to the Montana Free Press. Owners told the outlet that they were informed of an impending national news story just an hour before it was released, adding that the remarks were “completely out of character” for the 30-year-old candidate.
The owners said that they were strongly opposed to the “threatening language” she used in the voicemail, but added that the decision to fire her was ultimately difficult. They pointed to the integral role McKnight had played in growing the business since it opened in 2018, adding that they had come to think of her as a family member.
McKnight’s comments drew parallels to comments made by Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones, who fantasized about murdering his political opponents and their children in a scandalous text messaging change that came to define the race. Despite a massive polling dip, Jones ultimately managed to win by a comfortable margin in blue Virginia.
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