2006 New Member Profiles
Montana Senate: Jon Tester (D)
The Almanac of American Politics
© National Journal Group Inc.
| Jon Tester |
| Born: |
August 21, 1956 |
| Family: |
Wife, Sharla; two children |
| Religion: |
Christian |
| Education: |
University of Great Falls, B.S. 1978 |
| Career: |
Music teacher; farmer |
Elected
Office: |
Big Sandy School Board, 1982-92; Montana Senate, 1998-2006; Montana Senate president, 2005-06
|
Jon Tester heads to Washington after ousting three-term Republican Sen.
Conrad Burns, whose ties to disgraced lobbyist
Jack Abramoff and habit of making inappropriate statements proved to be his undoing.
Tester grew up on the same land that his grandfather homesteaded near the town of Big Sandy (population 703). He lost three fingers to a meat grinder at the age of 9, an accident that forced him to switch from the saxophone to the trumpet -- the instrument that led him to a music degree and a stint as an elementary school music teacher. A farmer who raises organic alfalfa, barley, buckwheat, hay, lentils, millet, peas, and wheat, Tester spent a decade on the local school board before winning a seat in the Montana Senate in 1998. In 2005, he became Senate president.
Tester announced in 2005 that he would run against Burns, but he faced a formidable Democratic primary opponent in state Auditor John Morrison. For much of the campaign, Morrison, a former president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, was seen as the front-runner. But his chances were damaged when it was disclosed that he had an extramarital affair in 1998 with the fiancée of a businessman who was later investigated by the auditor's office.
Meanwhile, Tester's grassroots-oriented campaign was just beginning to surge. Despite being significantly outspent in the June 6 primary, Tester won by a surprisingly wide margin, 61 percent to 35 percent.
In the general election, Republicans argued that Tester was far too liberal for Montana, and they linked him to "radical environmentalists" and liberal-extremist bloggers. But Tester's flattop haircut, beefy farmer's build, and agricultural background worked to insulate him from the criticism.
National Democrats, meanwhile, were relentless in their attacks on the Republican incumbent's ethics. As the largest recipient of campaign donations from Abramoff, Burns faced accusations that he had "sold his vote" and betrayed Montana's Native American population by earmarking funds for Abramoff's Indian clients in other states.
Burns's tendency to use intemperate language compounded his predicament. Discussing the war on terrorism, he spoke of enemies who "drive taxicabs in the daytime and kill at night." In July, Burns admonished a group of firefighters for doing a "piss-poor job" of battling a wildfire. A month later, he referred to his handyman as a "nice little Guatemalan man" and joked about his legal status. Burns himself admitted to reporters that he "can self-destruct in one sentence."
In past years, those gaffes might have been dismissed as part of Burns's folksy appeal. But in an election in which Republicans were on the defensive and Abramoff anchored Democratic charges of a GOP "culture of corruption," Burns had no room for error.
