Sen. Jon Tester to seek reelection in major boost for Democrats

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced Wednesday that he will seek reelection to a fourth term, bolstering Democratic hopes as the party faces a tough Senate map in 2024.

Casting himself as a fighter who can hold Washington accountable, the senator said in a statement that he is running again to “keep fighting for Montanans and demand that Washington stand up for our veterans and lower costs.”

“As a third-generation farmer who still farms the land my grandparents settled more than 100 years ago, I know that people in Washington don’t understand what a hard day’s work looks like or the challenges working families are facing in Montana,” Tester said.

Tester was first elected in 2006 in the Republican-leaning state that former president Donald Trump won handily in 2016 and 2020. Tester, 66, is a distinctive figure in the buttoned-down Senate with his flat-top hair and three missing fingers that he lost as a child while grinding meat at the family butcher shop.

He is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee and serves on the Veterans Affairs, Indian Affairs, Commerce and Banking committees.

Tester said last month that he would decide in the first half of the year whether to run again. Democrats were aware that Tester’s lengthy commute between Washington and his farm in Montana was weighing on him.

“To be honest with you, folks want me to be home,” Tester said then. “But they also want me to be here. So we’ll figure it out. … You don’t win elections alone, you have to have a family that’s solidly behind you.”

The GOP primary to select a nominee to challenge Tester could pit the state’s two House members, Ryan Zinke and Matthew M. Rosendale, against one another, while the fourth member of Montana’s congressional delegation — Sen. Steve Daines — serves as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in charge of trying to flip the seat to red.

Daines declined repeatedly last week to say whether he thought Rosendale, who lost to Tester in 2018, would be a strong candidate against the Democrat this time around.

“Just looking at the numbers right now, I think we’ll have a very good night in Montana,” Daines said. “There’s a lot of interest in this race because a lot of people see this race as winnable.”

In a statement Wednesday, Daines said Tester was making the same mistake former Montana governor Steve Bullock (D) did in 2020, when he ran for Senate and lost.

“Both should have ended their political careers on their terms,” Daines said. “Instead, they each will have their careers ended by Montana voters.”

Democrats hold a 51-49 Senate majority, which includes three independent senators — Bernie Sanders (Vt.), Angus King (Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) — who caucus with the party. Democrats are defending 23 Senate seats in 2024, including several in Republican-leaning states such as Ohio, West Virginia and Montana. They also are defending seats in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Michigan.

Given the formidable landscape in 2024, many Democrats were relieved when Tester announced his plans to run for reelection.

“First reaction: Phew! Second reaction: Phew!! Third reaction: Phew!!!” Jim Kessler, a co-founder of the Democratic think tank Third Way, tweeted Wednesday.

In a statement, Montana Democratic Party Chair Robyn Driscoll touted Tester as the Senate’s only working farmer and someone who would “take on anyone in order to defend our great Montana values.”

Among the other contests being watched, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) plans to run for reelection. Democrats are waiting to hear from Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on whether he will seek another term. Still unclear is whether Sinema, who in December switched from the Democratic Party to being an independent, will run for reelection in Arizona. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has announced a bid for the Senate.

Paul Kane and Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.