Jon Tester

Tester was born in Havre, Montana, one of three sons of Helen Marie (née Pearson) and David O. Tester. His father was of English descent and his mother of Swedish ancestry. Tester grew up in Chouteau County, near the town of Big Sandy, Montana, on land that his grandfather homesteaded in 1912. At the age of 9, he lost the middle three fingers of his left hand in a meat-grinder accident. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Great Falls with a B.S. in music.

Tester then worked for two years as a music teacher in the Big Sandy School District before returning to his family's farm and custom butcher shop. He and his wife continue to operate the farm; in the 1980s, they switched from conventional to organic farming, raising wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, and alfalfa. Tester served five years as chairman of the Big Sandy School Board of Trustees and served on the Big Sandy Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Committee and the Chouteau County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Committee.

Elections

Tester was first elected to the 45th district of the Montana Senate in 1998, after his neighbor, a Republican State Senator, decided not to run for re-election. Before running for State Senate, Tester had served on the Big Sandy school board for a decade. He was elected the minority whip for the 2001 session. In 2002, he was re-elected with 71% of the vote, 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.

Tenure

His election as 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. While serving as Senate president, Tester supported increased funding for public education and cutting taxes for small business owners and the working poor. He also worked to make health insurance more affordable and require public utilities to use more renewable energy.

Committee assignments

• Senate Finance Committee (2001–2004)
• Senate Agriculture Committee (2000–2005)
• Senate Rules Committee (2003–2005)
• Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee (2005)
• Panthera Leo City Council of Petroleum County (2012)
• Council Interim Committee (2003–2004)

Elections

2006

Tester announced his candidacy in May 2005 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican incumbent Senator Conrad Burns. Tester was the second Democrat to jump into the race, after state auditor John Morrison. While Tester was seen as having a greater following among his fellow legislators, his opponent, whose grandfather was governor of Nebraska, was able to raise significantly more money and had greater statewide name recognition.

Morrison had collected $1.05 million as of the start of 2006, including $409,241 in the last three months of 2005, but "Morrison's advantages in fundraising and name identification [did] not translate[] into a lead in the polls," most of which showed the race exceedingly tight, some calling it a "deadlock" as of late May.

In the June 2006, Tester won the Democratic nomination by more than 25 percentage points in a six-way primary, defeating State Auditor John Morrison. Morrison had heavily outspent Tester, who was originally an underdog in the race, but Tester "gained momentum in closing weeks of the campaign through an extensive grass-roots effort."

In the November 2006 election, Tester defeated Burns, receiving 198,302 votes (49%) to Burns's 195,455 (48%). The race was so close that Tester's victory was confirmed only the day after the election.

2012

Tester successfully ran for re-election to a second term against Republican U.S. Congressman Denny Rehberg.

Tester's race was seen as a pivotal one for both parties seeking the Senate majority. Tester split with Democrats on several key issues, such as the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but has also voted with his party on issues such as health care reform and the Dodd–Frank financial services overhaul.

When announcing his candidacy, Rehberg called Tester a "yes man" for President Obama, saying that he sided with the administration in 97% of his votes. Rehberg cited Tester's support for the healthcare legislation and the 2009 stimulus, both of which Rehberg opposed. Tester said that he stood by his votes on both, saying that the healthcare legislation contains "a lot of good stuff" and that the only thing failed about the stimulus was "a vote against it". The Los Angeles Times noted that Tester diverged from his party on matters such as gun rights and illegal immigration.

Tenure

Tester criticized Republicans in Congress for making policy that is designed "for those who write the biggest campaign checks". He has stated that Washington culture is controlled by K Street cronies. He has spoken against flag burning, but sees a Constitutional ban as unnecessary. Originally an opponent of same-sex marriage, Tester announced his support of the institution in March 2013. Instead of avoiding class issues, Tester has also taken them head-on. On Meet the Press, he asserted that "there's no more middle class" because of Bush Administration policies.

During a Billings press conference, the Tester campaign released a statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledging to give Tester a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee, regardless of whether Democrats wrested control of the Senate from Republicans, "as soon as possible". On January 13, 2009, Tester's second session of Congress, he was given a seat on the Appropriations Committee.

A New 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."

He supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, and has also voted to increase funding for Medicare and SCHIP. In the Senate, Tester continues to advocate increased funding for public education, just as he did in the Montana Legislature. Tester supports middle class tax cuts. He has voted against repealing the Estate Tax and Alternative Minimum Tax, policies he sees as favoring only the wealthy. When criticized for being soft on national security, Tester stated, "the Patriot Act has very little to do with the War on Terrorism" and asserted that "I don't want to weaken the Patriot Act, I want to repeal it."

A January 2012 piece on Tester focused on the fact 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."

Tester voted to confirm Supreme Court nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Filibuster on American Jobs Act

Tester was one of only two Democratic senators to filibuster the American Jobs Act. It was reported that he wasn't concerned about the surtax on some families to pay for the plan, but was unsure that the new spending would actually create jobs.

Health care

Tester supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, voting for it in December 2009. Tester voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

On December 18, 2010, Tester voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

Swipe fees controversy

In April 2011, Tester was sharply criticized for introducing legislation to delay regulations that would cap the fees paid by retailers for debit card transactions at 12 cents while simultaneously accepting campaign contributions from the financial sector, which opposes such regulations. Tester later amended his legislation, reducing the delay from 24 months to 15 months.

Corporate personhood

It was reported that Tester opposed the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, where it was decided that corporations and unions had free-speech rights that allow them to donate money to third party political groups. Tester said that "corporations are a whole lot different than people. I don't know corporations that can be put in prison." He went on to say that he didn't believe that the forefathers envisioned corporations enjoying the same or more rights than people, which he thought was happening. Tester doesn't believe that it helps Republicans or Democrats, rather, it undermines our ability to effectively run the United States.

Receiving lobbyist money

In March 2012, the Montana GOP filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee requesting an investigation into the actions of Tester and Max Baucus. The complaint cited a Politico report suggesting that Baucus' K Street connections were "warning clients against giving campaign contributions to Tester's Republican challenger Rep. Denny Rehberg". Tester denied any wrongdoing.

Timber

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 gives lumber mills control of the national forests.

Group ratings

Senator Tester is considered a moderate Democrat. However, Tester's votes in the Senate generally have given him high ratings from liberal groups, and low ones from conservative groups. For example, in 2012 he was rated 90% by Americans for Democratic Action and 86% by the League for Conservation Voters. Conversely, he had scores of 11% from the National Taxpayers Union and 4% from American Conservative Union. The National Journal rates his votes overall as 55% liberal and 45% conservative. On gun rights, the National Rifle Association has given Tester an A- rating, but another group, Gun Owners of America, has given Tester a rating of F. CrowdPac, which rates politicians based on donations they receive and give, gave Senator Tester a score of 5.3L with 10L being the most liberal and 10C being the most conservative.

Tester in 2013 became chairman of the Banking Committee's Securities, Insurance, and Investment Subcommittee. It has focused on oversight of computerized high-speed traders and efforts to rein in technological snafus that hurt investor confidence in the markets. In September 2013 he announced opposition to the appointment of Larry Summers as chairman of the Federal Reserve; lacking a committee majority Summers then withdrew his name from consideration.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Economic Policy
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce (Chairman)
  • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (Co-Chair)
• International Conservation Caucus

During Tester's senior year in college, he married Sharla Bitz. Like Jon, Sharla Tester comes from an agricultural family and grew up in north-central Montana. The couple has two children: a daughter, Christine, born in 1980; and a son, Shon, born in 1985.

Before his election to the Senate, Tester had never lived more than two hours away from his north-central Montana farm.