Jon Tester | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States Senator fromMontana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Conrad Burns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Tim Sheehy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| President of theMontana Senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Dan Harrington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Bob Keenan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mike Cooney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theMontana Senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 4, 1999 – January 3, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Loren Jenkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jim Peterson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency |
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Raymond Jon Tester (1956-08-21)August 21, 1956 (age 69) Havre, Montana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | College of Great Falls (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raymond Jon Tester[1] (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and retired politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as aUnited States senator fromMontana. A member of theDemocratic Party, Tester served in theMontana Senate from 1999 to 2007, and as its president from 2005 to 2007. As of May 2025, he is a political analyst forMSNBC, and the most recent Democrat to have won or held statewide office in Montana.
Tester was first elected to the U.S. Senate in2006, defeatingRepublican incumbentConrad Burns in one of the closest Senate races of that year. He narrowly won reelection in2012 and2018. He ran for reelection to a fourth term in2024, losing toRepublican nomineeTim Sheehy.
During his time in office, Tester voted for theEconomic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which rolled back parts of theDodd–Frank Act, and joined Republicans in supporting a measure to delay certain environmental regulations affecting coal power plants. He voted against theDREAM Act and against Democratic proposals to expandbackground checks, and has supported efforts to loosen restrictions on gun exports. Tester supported abortion rights, voted for theAffordable Care Act, and voted for theRespect for Marriage Act.
Tester was born on August 21, 1956,[2] inHavre, Montana,[3] one of three sons of Helen Marie (née Pearson), who was born inNorth Dakota[4] and David O. Tester, born inUtah.[5] He is the descendant of Mormon pioneers on his father's side. His father was of English descent and his mother was ofSwedish ancestry.[6] Tester grew up inChouteau County, near the town ofBig Sandy, Montana, on land that his grandfather homesteaded in 1912.[7] At the age of nine, he lost the middle three fingers of his left hand in a meat-grinder accident.[8] In 1978, he graduated from theUniversity of Providence (then called the College of Great Falls) with aBachelor of Arts in music.[9]
Tester then worked for two years as a music teacher in the Big Sandy School District before returning to his family's farm and custombutcher shop.[10] He and his wife continue to operate the farm; in the 1980s, they switched from conventional toorganic farming.[11] Tester spent five years as chairman of the Big Sandy School Board of Trustees and was also on the Big Sandy Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Committee and the Chouteau County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Committee.[12]
Tester was first elected to represent the 45th district in theMontana Senate in 1998. Before running for State Senate, Tester served on the Big Sandy school board for a decade.[13] He was elected the minority whip for the 2001 session. In 2002, he was reelected with 71% of the vote,[14] and he became minority leader in 2003. In 2004 he moved to the 15th district as a "holdover" because of redistricting. In 2005, Tester was elected president of the Montana Senate, the chief presiding officer of the Montana Legislature's upper chamber.[12]
Tester's election as Senate president marked a transition for Montana Democrats as they moved into the majority leadership of the Senate for the first time in more than a decade. Term limits prohibited Tester from running for State Senate for a third consecutive term.[15] Tester cited a prescription drug benefit program, reinstatement of the "Made in Montana" promotion program, a law to encouragerenewable energy development, and his involvement with a bill that led to an historic increase in public school funding as accomplishments while in office.[16]
In May 2005, Tester announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by theRepublican incumbent SenatorConrad Burns. Tester was the second Democrat to enter the race, after state auditorJohn Morrison. Tester had more support from his fellow legislators,[23] but Morrison, whose grandfather was governor ofNebraska, raised significantly more money and had greater statewide name recognition.[citation needed] Morrison collected $1.05 million by the beginning of 2006, including $409,241 in the last three months of 2005.[24] But "Morrison's advantages in fundraising and name identification [did] not translate into a lead in the polls",[25] most of which showed the race as exceedingly tight; by May 2006, some polls called the primary a "deadlock".[26]
In June 2006, Tester won the Democratic nomination by more than 25 percentage points in a six-way primary.[27] He was said to have "gained momentum in the closing weeks of the campaign through an extensive grass-roots effort".[27] While Tester's pledge to "end secret meetings with lobbyists" was a central issue in his campaign,CNN reported in 2023 that he had not fully followed through on it.[28]
In the November general election, Tester defeated Burns with 199,845 votes (49.2%) to Burns's 196,283 (48.3%).Libertarian Stan Jones received 10,377 votes (2.6%).[29] Tester's victory was confirmed the day after the election.[30]
Tester sought reelection to a second term and was challenged by Republican U.S. RepresentativeDenny Rehberg.[31]
The race was seen as pivotal for both parties. During his first term, Tester split with Democrats on key issues like theKeystone XL oil pipeline; he also voted with his party on issues such as theAffordable Care Act and theDodd–Frank financial services overhaul.[32]
When announcing his candidacy, Rehberg called Tester a "yes man" forPresident Obama, saying that he sided with the administration in 97% of his votes. Rehberg cited Tester's support for theACA and the2009 stimulus, both of which Rehberg opposed. Tester said that he stood by his votes on both bills, saying that the ACA contained "a lot of good stuff". TheLos Angeles Times noted that Tester diverged from his party on matters such as gun rights and illegal immigration.[33]
On Election Day, Tester defeated Rehberg, 49% to 45%. Libertarian Dan Cox received 7% of the vote.[34]
Tester won a third term, defeating Republican nomineeMontana State AuditorMatt Rosendale in a high-turnout election by 17,913 votes and crossing the 50% vote threshold for the first time in his 4 Senate elections.[35] He received 50% of the vote to Rosendale's 47%.[36] PresidentDonald Trump made a particular effort to unseat Tester, traveling to Montana four times over the preceding months. Despite increased Republican turnout in the state, Tester secured victory due to increased turnout in Democratic-leaning areas, strong support fromNative Americans and women, increased support among independent voters, and 67% of the youth vote.[37]
Despite reports that Tester was considering retirement,[38] he announced in February 2023 that he would seek a fourth Senate term. His reelection was considered pivotal for Democrats to maintain their Senate majority in the119th United States Congress.[39]
Tester was one of the Democratic Party's last remainingred-state U.S. senators, and Montana was one of five states with Senate delegations split between the Republican and Democratic Parties.[40] According toThe Washington Post, Republican and Democratic strategists agreed that the race would "be a test of whether [Tester's] authenticity and connection with his home state's voters can override most Montanans' inclination to vote Republican." Trump carried Montana by 16 percentage points in 2020; his margin of victory was larger in 2016. Tester made some moves to distance himself from theJoe Biden administration, but his voting record remained in line with the Democratic Party.[41] In July 2024, Tester called for Biden to withdraw from the2024 United States presidential election.[42] In August, Tester announced that he would not endorseKamala Harris for president.[43] In the2024 United States Senate elections, Tester lost to Republican nomineeTim Sheehy, receiving 46% of the vote to Sheehy's 53%.[44]
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During a 2006 Billings press conference, the Tester campaign released a statement from Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, pledging to give Tester a coveted seat on theAppropriations Committee "as soon as possible", regardless of whether Democrats won control of the Senate.[45] During Tester's second session of Congress in 2009, he was given a seat on the Appropriations Committee.[46] Tester became chairman of the Banking Committee's Securities, Insurance, and Investment Subcommittee in 2013.[47]
Tester opposed the 2013 appointment ofLarry Summers as chairman of the Federal Reserve; lacking a committee majority, Summers then withdrew his name from consideration.[48]
Tester received more money in campaign contributions from lobbyists than any other member of Congress in 2018. When asked about this, he said it was "bull".[49]
Tester was on Capitol Hill for the2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6, when Trump supportersstormed the U.S. Capitol. He was in his office in theHart Senate Office Building when the Capitol was breached. Along with his staff, Tester was evacuated to an undisclosed location for safety.[50] He called the storming a "despicable and dangerous attack on our democracy" and "a coup by domestic terrorists",[51][52] and blamed Trump for instigating it. He also said that impeachment of Trump was unlikely in the short period of time before Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20.[52] He called fellow Montana senatorSteve Daines an "enabler" of the attack, as Daines supported Trump's unproven voter fraud claims.[53]
Tester is considered a moderate Democrat.[56] ANew York Times profile of Tester after his 2006 election described him as "truly your grandfather's Democrat—a pro-gun, anti-big-business prairie pragmatist whose life is defined by the treeless patch of hard Montana dirt that has been in the family since 1916".[57] In 2012,USA Today noted that Tester had sometimes "split with Democrats—most recently in his support of construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast—but he has voted with Obama on the most critical issues of his presidency: thestimulus, thehealth care legislation and theDodd-Frank financial services overhaul".[58]FiveThirtyEight, which tracks votes in Congress, found that Tester had voted with Trump's position 30% of the time during Trump's presidency.[59] Through January 2023, Tester had voted in line with Joe Biden's position 91% of the time.[60] In 2023, the Lugar Center ranked Tester tenth among senators for bipartisanship.[61]
Tester supportsabortion rights.The New York Times wrote that his "electoral successes trace back to carefully tailored campaigns that catered to local issues over dominant national ones like abortion", and that forred state Democrats like Tester andSherrod Brown ofOhio, it was an open question whether they could "maintain their invaluable political personas while—for the first time in their lengthy careers in public office—persuading their constituents to keep abortion rights front and center when voting next year [in 2024]."[62]
Tester was one of two Democratic senators to filibuster theAmerican Jobs Act in 2011. It was reported that he was not concerned about the surtax on some families to pay for the plan, but was unsure that the new spending would actually create jobs. "I've got more of a concern about a state aid package ... and how the money is going to be spent and whether it's really going to create jobs," he explained.[63]
Tester was the only Democratic senator from a Republican-leaning state to oppose a stopgap funding measure to end athree-day government shutdown in 2018 and reopen the federal government.[64]
Tester became one of the Democrats in the Senate to support theEconomic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, a bill that partially repealed theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and relaxed key banking regulations. As one of at least 11 other Democrats, he argued that the bill would "right-size post-crisis rules imposed on small and regional lenders and help make it easier for them to provide credit".Chuck Schumer andElizabeth Warren vehemently opposed the legislation.[65] Tester became the first Democrat endorsed byFriends of Traditional Banking, a political action committee that had previously endorsed Republicans.[66]
ANewsweek reporter who traveled with Tester in Montana in 2011 said that the "desire to wrest control of wolves from D.C. ... was the only topic that came up everywhere he went: hotels, coffee shops, art auctions. 'What do you think about wolves?' a sixth grader asked during an assembly inMiles City. 'I think we should start hunting them again!' Tester said. The kids let out their loudest cheer of the afternoon."[67] Tester tried to revive a bill that was meant to be a compromise between the conservationists and the timber industry. The bill would put 700,000 acres of wilderness aside for "light-on-the-land logging projects" with the intention of creating jobs in the flagging industry. It was noted that Tester was not "winning admirers on his side", with some liberal environmentalists saying that would give lumber mills control of the national forests.[67][68]
Tester is a gun owner.[69] Ongun rights, theNational Rifle AssociationPolitical Victory Fund gave him an A− grade in 2012.[70] This was downgraded to a D in 2018 after he voted against confirmingBrett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.[71] Tester supports efforts to loosen restrictions on gun exports, saying it would help U.S. gun manufacturers expand their business and create more jobs.[72]
Tester voted against a Democrat-sponsored proposal in 2016 that would have requiredbackground checks for purchases at gun shows and for purchases of guns online nationwide. He argued that the bill would "have blocked family members and neighbors from buying and selling guns to one another without a background check". Tester voted for a second Democrat-sponsored proposal to ban gun sales to people on the terrorist watch list. Both proposals failed.[73]
Tester supported theAffordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), having voted for it in December 2009.[74]
Tester said in 2017 that Democrats should consider asingle-payer health care system.[75] In the summer of that year, he said that health care needed reform but that the latest GOP attempt at reform was a "train wreck" that would "strip health care away from millions of Americans". He said that Democrats should "work to fix what's wrong with the current healthcare system in a bipartisan way. And that means going through committee process, not doing it in a dark room with a select few, but going through the committee process and getting good ideas from everybody". Reminded that some Democrats "believe that compromise on this issue is not only unprincipled but unnecessary", Tester said the issue was "too important... not to try to help remedy the problems".[76]
In 2010, Tester voted against theDREAM Act, legislation that would have created a pathway to citizenship for the foreign-born children of illegal immigrants. He has said, "Illegal immigration is a critical problem facing our country, but amnesty is not the solution. I do not support legislation that provides a path for citizenship for anyone in this country illegally."[77][78]
In 2017, Tester criticized Trump for saying that he would cancelDACA in six months. "I don't support what the president did", Tester said. "I think it's ill-informed, I think it rips families apart, and it's not what this country stands for." Asked if he would now commit to voting for the DREAM Act, he said, "I support comprehensive immigration reform."[79]
In 2018, Tester and SenatorsHeidi Heitkamp,Kamala Harris, andClaire McCaskill co-sponsored the Border and Port Security Act,[80] legislation that would mandate theU.S. Customs and Border Protection to "hire, train and assign at least 500 officers per year until the number of needed positions the model identifies is filled" and require the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection to determine potential equipment and infrastructure improvements for ports of entry.[81]
Tester voted to convict Trump during both of hisimpeachment trials.[82]
Tester voted for theDon't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.[83] While he opposedsame-sex marriage during both his 2006 and 2012 campaigns, Tester announced his support for it in 2013, citing concerns about federal government overreach.[84] After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled inObergefell v. Hodges that all U.S. states must recognize same-sex marriages, Tester praised the ruling as protecting "the rights and freedoms of every married couple".[85] He voted for theRespect for Marriage Act of 2022.[86]
During Tester's 2006 Senate campaign, his opponent, SenatorConrad Burns, criticized him for wanting to weaken thePATRIOT Act. Tester replied: "I don't want to weaken the PATRIOT Act, I want to repeal it!"[87] He opposed the confirmations ofJeff Sessions asAttorney General,[88]Mike Pompeo asDirector of the Central Intelligence Agency,[89] andNeil Gorsuch asAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for supporting the PATRIOT Act's bulk data collection provisions.[88][90] Tester voted in 2018 against confirmingBrett Kavanaugh as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Among other reasons, he cited "concerns that Judge Kavanaugh defended the PATRIOT Act instead of Montanans' privacy", as Kavanaugh had helped theBush administration craft a program of mass domestic surveillance and had ruled in favor of increased government surveillance under the PATRIOT Act inKlayman v. Obama.[91] Tester was one of seven Senate Democrats to join Republican SenatorRand Paul in his 10-hour filibuster against reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act in 2015.[92]
Tester opposed theSupreme Court decisionCitizens United, which allows corporations and unions to donate unlimited amounts of money to third-party political groups. He proposed a constitutional amendment to reverse the decision, arguing that it had a bad impact on American democracy.[93]
Tester voted to confirm Supreme Court nomineesSonia Sotomayor andElena Kagan.[94][95] He opposed Trump's nomination ofNeil Gorsuch.[96] Tester also voted against Trump's nomineesBrett Kavanaugh andAmy Coney Barrett.[97][98] Tester voted to confirm Joe Biden's nominee,Ketanji Brown Jackson.[99]
Tester did not supportGina Haspel's nomination in 2018 to becomeCIA Director.[100] The first Democrat from a red state to express opposition to her, he cited her role inBush administration interrogation and detention programs, and said he was "not a fan ofwaterboarding".[100]
In 2018, as ranking member of theSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Tester raised concerns about the nomination ofRonny Jackson to head theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. There were allegations that Jackson had dispensed medications in a medically unethical fashion, was drunk on an overseas trip, and drunkenly banged on the hotel door of a female colleague.[101] Jackson denied the allegations but withdrew his nomination.[102] In response, Trump called for Tester's resignation and said the allegations against Jackson were false.[101] According toCNN, four sources familiar with the allegation that Jackson drunkenly banged on the door of a female colleague confirmed it. TheSecret Service said it could not verify any of the allegations.[101]Johnny Isakson, the Republican chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, defended Tester, saying he had no problem with Tester's handling of the nomination.[103]
Tester said that following his departure from the Senate, he would continue working on his farm. He co-hosts a podcast with journalist Maritsa Georgiou.[104]
In May 2025, Tester joinedMS NOW, known at the time as MSNBC, as a political analyst for the network.[105] He made his first appearance on the network in his new position onDeadline: White House.[106]
During Tester's senior year in college, he married Sharla Bitz.[107] They have three children.[108] Tester is affiliated with theChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana).[109]
Before his election to the Senate, Tester had never lived more than two hours away from his north-central Montana farm.[57] In addition to his Montana farm, Tester owns a home in Washington, D.C.[110]
A profile of Tester noted that he butchers and brings his own meat with him to Washington. He said, "Taking meat with us is just something that we do ... We like our own meat".[111]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester | 65,757 | 60.77 | |
| Democratic | John Morrison | 38,394 | 35.48 | |
| Democratic | Paul Richards | 1,636 | 1.51 | |
| Democratic | Robert Candee | 1,471 | 1.36 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Marcure | 940 | 0.87 | |
| Total votes | 108,198 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester | 199,845 | 49.16 | +1.92 | |
| Republican | Conrad Burns (incumbent) | 196,283 | 48.29 | −2.27 | |
| Libertarian | Stan Jones | 10,377 | 2.55 | +2.55 | |
| Total votes | 406,505 | 100.00 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 88,720 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 88,720 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 236,123 | 48.58 | −0.58 | |
| Republican | Denny Rehberg | 218,051 | 44.86 | −3.43 | |
| Libertarian | Dan Cox | 31,892 | 6.56 | +4.01 | |
| Total votes | 486,066 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 114,948 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 114,948 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 253,876 | 50.33 | +1.75 | |
| Republican | Matt Rosendale | 235,963 | 46.78 | +1.92 | |
| Libertarian | Rick Breckenridge | 14,545 | 2.88 | −3.68 | |
| Total votes | 504,384 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 104,279 | 96.96% | |
| Democratic | Michael Hummert | 3,272 | 3.04% | |
| Total votes | 107,551 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tim Sheehy | 319,682 | 52.64% | +5.86% | |
| Democratic | Jon Tester (incumbent) | 276,305 | 45.50% | −4.83% | |
| Libertarian | Sid Daoud | 7,272 | 1.20% | −1.68% | |
| Green | Robert Barb | 4,003 | 0.66% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 607,262 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
The senator's son, Shon, introduced his family and parents to the assembled reporters and supporters. Both Christine and the Testers' adopted daughter, Melodee, spoke about what their dad meant to them [...]
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