Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy duked it out one last time on the debate stage over immigration, abortion and other issues ahead of the Nov. 5 election, vying for voters in a race that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. 

One of the more fiery moments of the debate, hosted by PBS Monday night, came when Mr. Tester called on Mr. Sheehy to apologize for derogatory comments he made about members of Montana’s Crow Tribe, during a question on how to bolster access to healthcare in Montana’s Indian Country. 

The comments, first reported by the Char-Koosta News, were made last year when Mr. Sheehy told a room of supporters about a time when he worked on a cattle ranch on the Crow Reservation, and that it was a “great way to bond with all the Indians, to be out there while they’re drunk at 8 a.m.” 

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“The reality is, yeah, insensitive,” Mr. Sheehy said. “I come from the military, as many of our tribal members do. You know we make insensitive jokes and probably off color sometimes, and you know, I’m an adult. I’ll take accountability for that.” 

He tried to shift the conversation to immigration, a point he made many times during the debate, but Mr. Tester again pressed for an apology, arguing that “if you treat them with disrespect, other people will disrespect them.”  

“Tim, the statement you made degrades Native Americans across this country,” Mr. Tester said. “So like I said to begin with, you’re a big guy, just apologize.” 

“Will you apologize for opening the border?” Mr. Sheehy countered. 

The back and forth marked another point of tension between the candidates in a race that has become the most-watched in the country.   

Montana has become the grand prize for the GOP’s election offensive this year, and the most important seat for Democrats to defend if they want to maintain the majority in the upper chamber. But the race has inched more and more in favor of Mr. Sheehy, an aerospace millionaire backed by former President Donald Trump and the full weight of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

Democrats hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate, but Republicans are defending only 11 seats, and none is considered highly vulnerable by political handicappers. With West Virginia widely expected to elect a Republican to the Senate in November to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III, the GOP likely needs to flip only one other seat to control the chamber.

But Mr. Tester is a difficult foe to beat, winning three tight elections in a state that has morphed from purple to red. Republicans believe Mr. Sheehy will finally get it done. He was hand-picked by Montana’s other senator, Republican Steve Daines, to run against the incumbent. 

Polling aggregate Real Clear Polling showed that Mr. Sheehy had a roughly five-point advantage over Mr. Tester, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report last month shifted the race from a “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” signifying the GOP is a favorite to win.

The candidates traded barbs on other issues. On abortion, Mr. Tester accused Mr. Sheehy of wanting to outlaw the practice, while he believed that Roe v. Wade should be reinstated and that ultimately only a woman should choose whether to get an abortion or not. 

“My opponent, on the other hand, feels exactly the opposite. He feels he’s more entitled to make that decision than the women are,” Mr. Tester said. 

Montana currently has a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s Constitution. Mr. Sheehy said that he believed in exceptions, like rape, incest, and life of the mother, and said if the initiative passed he would “respect it.” 

“But the reality is, at some point we have to protect the life of the child,” Mr. Sheehy said. “It could be the next Albert Einstein, the next Michael Jordan, the next Jon Tester for all we know.”

Immigration was also a focal point, with Mr. Sheehy blaming Mr. Tester and the Biden administration for opening up the border over the last three and a half years. The pair argued over the bipartisan border bill that was killed by Senate Republicans at the behest of Mr. Trump, which Mr. Sheehy said would have “enshrined a massive level of continued illegal immigration.” 

Mr. Tester tried to distance himself from President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the border, but countered that the Senate had a solution to the border crisis that was killed to be used as a “political tool.” 

“The bottom line is, Tim Sheehy, before it was even released to read, said, ‘Nope, not going to support that.’ because his party bosses told him that’s what you need to do,” Mr. Tester said. “That’s not what Montana needs in Washington.”