Tester Files for U.S. Senate

By Dana Green, 3-21-06

Jon Tester officially filed as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Tuesday, announcing in a campaign press release, "I may not look like the rest of the U.S. Senate – but maybe it's time that the rest of the Senate looked a little more like Montana."

The affable Big Sandy farmer and state Senate president will be facing State Auditor John Morrison in the June primary. Both candidates are vying to replace incumbent Republican Sen. Conrad Burns in Washington, DC, come November.

The latest news: A poll released today shows both Tester and Morrison ahead of Burns – and rumors are flying that Burns may step aside to let a more favorably viewed Republican candidate take his place.

Burns has until Thursday to officially file for his own Senate seat.

In the poll, Morrison had higher favorability ratings among voters than Tester – 54 to Tester’s 48 percent, which put him even with Burns.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Tester remained confident, despite Morrison showing slightly stronger numbers, that his campaign is on the right track.

“I am encouraged by the fact that we continue to go up in every poll,” he said. “We’re heading down the right road, and people are figuring out who I am.”

As of the last filing period on December 31, Tester’s fundraising was off to a slow start: He had raised just $470,827, compared to Burns’ $3,697,000 and John Morrison’s $1,053,154.

The special Legislative session, held in December, was time-consuming, Tester said, but now “we’ve dedicated ourselves fully to the campaign … and we’ve had a very good quarter. You’ll see that reflected in April when the new numbers come out.”

Tester has repeatedly stressed his third-generation Montana farming roots, his 28-year marriage, and no-nonsense ethics (See Courtney Lowery’s piece on Tester for New West in August).

But it is his record advocating for ordinary Montanans in the state Senate that should set him apart from his opponents, he believes.

Tester predicted that his campaign will continue to tout his Senate record – including the prescription drug bill he sponsored in the 2005 session – as the race progresses.

“I’m not afraid to stand up for the people in Montana and my Senate record reflects that,” he said. “I get things done.”

Regardless of the results of June’s primary, Tester is blunt about it being time for Burns to go. The Democratic candidate has repeatedly called for Burns to step down, calling his term a “reign of corruption.”

“It can’t be a culture of cronyism and ‘pay to play,’ in Washington,” Tester said. “In Montana, a handshake is your bond … and honesty is the foundation of doing business. We need to start sending people to Washington that represent average Montanans.”

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