Democrats are refusing to give up on Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) reelection bid even as his chances appear bleak with just more than two weeks until Election Day.

To GOP senators and operatives, the writing has been on the wall for weeks about Tester — and the font has been getting larger by the day. They see little way back for the three-term Democrat in his fight with Republican Tim Sheehy, who leads by 7 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ/The Hill’s polling average.

But that has not dissuaded Democrats and outside groups, who are intent on keeping tens of millions of dollars in ad buys through Nov. 5 in Montana and maintain the race — on which control of the Senate hinges — is by no means over.

“We remain confident of Senator Tester’s ability to win the race in part because he’s so rooted in the state,” said JB Poersch, president of the Senate Majority PAC (SMP), the largest Democratic outside group backing Senate Democratic candidates.

The SMP is putting its money where its mouth is. According to ad-tracking data, the group spent $5.3 million last week to boost Tester and is set to drop a similar amount next week. Overall, spending by Tester and outside groups is almost evenly matched with the GOP’s spending level.

“Yes, we do. We think it’s viable,” Poersch continued.

Tester also gave himself a financial shot in the arm last week by posting a $30 million fundraising haul over the past three months. That could leave him with more than he can spend on the airwaves in the final weeks in one of the least expensive states on the Senate map.

However, the math is........

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