Incumbent Democrat Jon Tester, Republican Tim Sheehy, Libertarian Sid Daoud and Green Party candidate Robert Barb are on the ballot this fall to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate. MTN caught up with Tester in Butte to discuss key issues and his time representing the Treasure State.
Tester is Montana’s senior senator, representing Montana 18 years on the national level. He has several committee assignments in Congress including chairing the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, chairing the Subcommittee on Defense, and serving on the Committee of Indian Affairs. He says his experience and record have made him a successful advocate for Montana.
“I’m a Montanan and I love this state and I love the people of this state. I think this is the greatest state in the greatest country that’s ever existed on earth,” Tester told MTN. “I’ve got some seniority in the Senate, the Senate is based on seniority. I’m able to get some things done that can really help this state and move this state forward economically. But the bottom line why I’m running again is because I love this state and I want my kids and grandkids to have the same opportunity that my parents and grandparents gave me.”
Jon Tester was born in Havre and grew up on the land his grandparents homesteaded, land he still works and a matter of pride for the third-generation farmer. He’s the only member of Congress just shy of all ten fingers after losing three on his left hand in a meat grinder accident when he was just nine years old. Tester met his wife Sharla at church after she struck him out during a youth game of softball. The two raised their three children on their Big Sandy farm. Tester graduated with a music degree from the College of Great Falls and worked for two years as an elementary music teacher in Big Sandy.
“There are two things that make this thing great, public education foundation of our democracy,” Tester previously told MTN.
Tester, Montana’s only statewide elected Democrat, was first elected to the Senate in 2006 after serving in the Montana Legislature.
The three-term U.S. Senator told MTN he doesn’t like “career politicians” and doesn’t feel like he’s become one.
“I’m the only one in the Senate that has a real job outside of being a United States senator and that is I’m a farmer,” explained Tester.
Critics of Tester have pointed out the fact that he is one of the largest recipients of lobbyist donations in the Senate. So far in 2024, he’s received $495,260 from lobbyist sources, although that is a relatively small portion of the $76.6 million he has raised so far this election cycle.
As Senator, Tester has broken from party lines on several issues including opposing gun restrictions and supporting the Keystone XL oil pipeline. He also not endorsed the Democrat Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris and called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race.
On the border and immigration, Tester does not support amnesty unless they are Native American and says politics needs to stop preventing much-needed work from being done.
“That’s not the way it should be. It shouldn’t be about Democrats and Republicans, it should be about Americans and the border needs to be secure,” Tester said. “I’ve pushed back on the Biden administration many, many times on the southern border because I believe the southern border needs to be secure.”
On the issue of abortion, Tester says he supports restoring abortion rights on a national level.
“These are very difficult decisions, they’re complex decisions. They’re decisions that shouldn’t be made by a U.S. senator, or a judge, or a bureaucrat. They need to be made by the woman and the doctor,” noted Tester. “That’s fundamentally where I have been, fundamentally where I’m at, and I think it’s just critically important.”
The general election is Tuesday, November 5. More information about voting locations and voter status can be found on the Secretary of State's website.
