Senator Jon Tester
Party: Democrat
State: Montana
What you need to know: Tester has averaged 85% on the Council’s scorecard over past four years. His opponent has averaged under 9%.
Democrat - Incumbent
Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World
First term Senator Jon Tester was born and raised in Montana. He is a third-generation family farmer who grows organic crops on land homesteaded by his grandfather in 1916. Born in 1956, Tester attended the University of Great Falls and studied music. He also taught public school.
Tester was elected to the State Senate in 1998 and quickly rose through leadership ranks to become Senate President for the 2005 session.
In 2006, endorsed early by Council for a Livable World, he scored the biggest surprise of the primary elections by coming from far behind to trounce his heavily favored opponent. He then went on to win a close general election contest, defeating a sitting Republican Senator by 3,500 votes.
Tester serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, including the key Energy and Water Subcommittee that appropriates non-proliferation program funding.
Senator Tester again faces a tough challenge in the 2012 election. His opponent is Montana’s at large Congressman, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R). Rehberg is the strongest candidate Republicans could get to run against Tester. The challenger is serving his sixth term in the House. Rehberg failed in his first attempt to win a Senate seat in 1996, losing to Democratic Sen. Max Baucus. He was first elected to the House in 2000.
Tester has averaged 85% on the Council’s scorecard over past four years that included votes on the New START Treaty, Afghanistan, missile defense, the Iraq War and North Korea. Rehberg, on the other hand, has averaged under 9% over the same time period on Council for a Livable World’s PeacePAC voting record.
Tester serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, including the key Energy and Water Subcommittee that appropriates non-proliferation program funding. He also sits on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees.
A March 2011 Mason-Dixon poll for the Billings Gazette showed the two candidates in a virtual dead heat.
The last financial reporting period showed both candidates with a similar cash-on-hand in their campaign treasury, about half a million dollars each.
The Montana Senate contest has the makings of one of the closest races in the country. It is critical to help Senator Jon Tester to return to the Senate.
or mail donations to:
Montanans for Tester
Council for a Livable World
322 4th St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
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