Jon Tester (D) — (50%) 247,117
Matt Rosendale (R) — (47%) 231,267
Rick Breckenridge (L) — (3%) 14,121
Why it Matters
In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Jon Tester won reelection to a third term, fending off high-profile attacks from President Donald Trump that dominated the Treasure State’s political landscape for months while outlasting record-high spending from outside groups.
Tester was widely seen early in the cycle as a vulnerable Democrat due to the fact Trump won the state by 20 points just two years ago. But Tester’s unique brand as a farmer from Big Sandy and personal connection to the state provided a contrast to Republican Matt Rosendale, whose ties to the state came under close scrutiny.
Tester, like other Democrats running in red states, routinely pledged throughout the campaign to work with Trump when needed, running television ads that touted his success garnering the president’s signature on bills critical to veterans’ services, even as Trump drew an intense bead on the Democrat.
For Montana Democrats, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s reelection to a third term gained significance this midterm election as the Treasure State’s political landscape was dominated by high-profile attacks leveled against the incumbent candidate, including an intense, vendetta-fueled focus on the race from President Donald Trump.
In fending off the attacks from Trump and his surrogates, the flattop-sporting, seven-fingered farmer from Big Sandy joined a rarefied guild of Montana Democrats who have won at least three U.S. Senate races, including Mike Mansfield, Lee Metcalf and Max Baucus.
Even with Trump looming large in the race, making an unprecedented four trips to the state to campaign against the Democrat and for his Republican challenger, state Auditor Matt Rosendale, Tester won 50 percent of the vote, capturing a majority that remained out of reach in his previous two victories.
Final results tabulated by the Montana Secretary of State show Tester amassing 247,117 votes to Rosendale’s 231,267. Libertarian Rick Breckenridge won 14,005 votes.
Tester’s campaign portrayed Rosendale as an out-of-state developer from Maryland, a stark contrast to the Democrat’s folksy, down-to-earth brand that he plies with aplomb, flashing supporters a “hang-loose” sign with his left hand, its three middle fingers missing since the age of 9 due to an accident with a meat grinder.
Despite the barrage of attacks from Trump, who won Montana by 20 points in 2016, Montana’s senior senator showed restraint in his critiques of Trump, even as the president railed against Tester at raucous rallies in Great Falls, Billings, Missoula, and Bozeman.
The tiff between Trump and Tester began when the senator brought to light reports provided by 25 servicemen and women to Tester’s staff raising concerns about the qualifications of Ronny Jackson, Trump’s pick to lead Veterans Affairs who in 2013 was appointed to the role of White House physician under the Obama administration.
For Tester, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, the VA is sacred ground — it’s an organization of 360,000 employees serving 10 million veterans and their families, including roughly 100,000 in Montana, which is home to one of the highest rates of veterans per capita.
The anonymous allegations, which Tester has defended as credible and consistent, accused Jackson of abusive behavior and professional misconduct. The reports raised concerns about his fitness, and included allegations of over-prescribing medication, drunkenness on the job and creating a hostile work environment.
Although Jackson and Trump furiously denied the accusations, the physician nonetheless withdrew his nomination, infuriating Trump and placing Tester squarely in the president’s crosshairs.
In response, the president tweeted out a series of scathing critiques about Montana’s senior senator. Trump called on him to resign and threatened vaguely that “I know things about Tester that I could say, too, and if I said them, he’d never be elected again.”
The president never revealed what he allegedly knows, and Tester prevailed in his bid for the Senate despite the continued assault on his character.
“Montanans spoke loud and clear about the direction they want to go because Montanans know the challenges we face,” Tester told supporters during his victory speech Nov. 8 in Great Falls. “And quite frankly I hope the president comes back. But not for political rallies, but to see the challenges we have here.”
Riffing on the fatigue of running at the fore of the most expensive campaign in Montana political history, Tester said he was glad to have it behind him.
“This was an interesting race, I’ll tell you, and I’m happy for it to be over,” he said.
The 2012 race between Tester and his Republican challenger, former Congressman Denny Rehberg, was one of the most expensive elections in the nation that year, with an unprecedented $47 million spent between the candidates and outside groups. Spending in the 2018 midterm surpassed $60 million, shattering the state record as groups poured cash into the race, saturating airwaves with political ads.
With the campaign bluster behind him, Tester said it’s time to go back to work.
“We need to make sure that we move forward in a way that ensures we have the strongest middle class ever, one that is the envy of the world,” he said. “And it will continue to be the envy of the world if we have policies coming out of Washington, D.C. that make sense for our middle-class families and our small businesses. And that includes things like making sure we have public lands and access to them. It includes things like Social Security and Medicare, making sure they are there for our kids and grandkids. That includes things like taking care of our vets. It includes making sure that our health insurance is affordable, and making sure folks with pre-existing conditions can stay on their policies.”
Traversing the state on the campaign trail, Tester said supporters regularly brought up the political gridlock and divisiveness that has come to define national politics.
“The biggest thing people brought up was, ‘why can’t you guys get things done?’” Tester said. “We can and we will because the American people are demanding it.”
“We need to get some things done,” he added. “We need to work together, we need to put aside the political pettiness and work together to get things done.”