A former Park Service ranger said Friday that U.S. Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy of Montana has been lying about a bullet wound that the candidate said came from fighting in Afghanistan - going public with an accusation that has nagged the Republican's campaign for months.
The claim from former ranger Kim Peach that Sheehy in fact shot himself on a family trip in Montana was immediately dismissed by Sheehy and his allies as a smear campaign engineered by Democrats in a race that's expected to help decide control of the Senate .
But with the election less than three weeks away, it adds to the huge pressures that the political newcomer already faced as he challenges three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester .
Sheehy is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and his military record is a centerpiece of his bid for office. During stump speeches and in a book published by Sheehy last year, he recounts being wounded on multiple occasions during combat, including in the arm in 2012.
Sheehy was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in a separate combat incident and was also awarded a Bronze Star.
