Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American politician and farmer serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressional delegation and the only Democrat who holds statewide office in Montana. He served in the Montana Senate from 1999 to 2007, and as its president for his last two years in the chamber. He is generally considered a centrist or moderate Democrat.
Tester was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, defeating Republican incumbent Conrad Burns in one of the closest Senate races of that year. He narrowly won reelection in 2012 against U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg, and in 2018 against Montana State Auditor Matt Rosendale. He is running for reelection in 2024.
Early life, education, and farming career
Tester was born in Havre, Montana, one of three sons of Helen Marie (née Pearson) and David O. Tester. He is the descendant of Mormon pioneers on his father's side. His father was of English descent and his mother was 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 nine, he lost the middle three fingers of his left hand in a meat-grinder accident. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Providence (then called the College of Great Falls) with a B.A. 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. 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.
Montana Senate (1999–2007)
Elections
Tester was first elected to represent the 45th district in the Montana Senate in 1998, after his neighbor, a Republican State Senator, decided not to run for reelection. Before running for State Senate, Tester served on the Big Sandy school board for a decade. He was elected the minority whip for the 2001 session. In 2002, he was reelected 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
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. Tester cited a prescription drug benefit program, reinstatement of the "Made in Montana" promotion program, a law to encourage renewable energy development, and his involvement with a bill that led to an historic increase in public school funding as accomplishments while in office.
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)
U.S. Senate (2007–present)
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 as being exceedingly tight, some calling it a "deadlock" as of late May.
In June 2006, Tester won the Democratic nomination by more than 25 percentage points in a six-way primary. Tester was described as having "gained momentum in closing weeks of the campaign through an extensive grass-roots effort". Tester's pledge to "end secret meetings with lobbyists" was a central issue of his campaign, although CNN reported years later he had not fully followed through.