Republican Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy became the first Republican to run a campaign ad featuring former President Donald Trump‘s conviction.

The ex-Navy SEAL used the historic conviction to attack his opponent, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), as complicit in the persecution of Trump. Tester is a rare Democrat to occupy a Senate seat in a deep-red state where Trump is overwhelmingly popular.

“It’s lawfare, a state-sponsored political persecution led by Joe Biden and the radical Left,” the ad said. “They want to throw Trump in jail, trying to rob Americans of their choice in the election, and Jon Tester is standing right by their side.”

The video featured footage of Tester saying he wanted to “punch [Trump] in the face,” saying that “Tester even advocated for violence against President Trump.”

Trump endorsed Sheehy in February.

In a statement to Politico, Tester spokeswoman Monica Robinson was dismissive of the ad, even offering an implicit defense of Trump.

She said that Sheehy “is trying to cover up the fact that he’s an out-of-state multimillionaire who has been caught lying about every part of his life and is running for Senate to benefit himself, not Montana. Jon will continue running on his record of always fighting for what’s best for Montana — including getting more than 20 bills signed into law by President Trump.”

The National Republican Senate Committee hit Tester on the same day of Trump’s conviction, connecting his previous statements against Trump with his prosecution.

“Two-Faced Tester voted to impeach President Trump twice and encouraged physical violence against Trump,” NRSC Communications Director Mike Berg said. “Now Two-Faced Tester is trying to fool voters into thinking he isn’t the Trump hater he was so proud to be for the last five years. Tester should rescind his endorsement of Joe Biden immediately and renounce his longtime membership of the Democrat Party.” 

The NRSC told Politico it raised over $1 million in small-dollar online donations in the 48 hours following Trump’s conviction.

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New polls are finding that the public is largely split on Trump’s conviction, though Republicans heavily back Trump and believe he’s innocent.

A new ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 50% of the public believes Trump’s conviction was correct. Of those polled, 47% believed that the charges against him were politically motivated, compared to just 35% who did not. This is in contrast to just 16% of Republicans who agree with the verdict.