Jon Tester

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Jon Tester (2014)

Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956 in Havre , Montana ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He has represented Montana in the United States Senate since 2007 .

Family, education and work

Tester is the son of David Tester and Helen Pearson and grew up on their farm that Tester's grandfather had built forty years earlier. In his childhood he worked on the farm and in house slaughtering; At the age of nine he lost three fingers in a meat grinder, which shifted his playing instruments from the saxophone to the trumpet. Tester received his Bachelor of Science degree in Music from Great Falls College in 1978. He was a music teacher at Big Sandy School for two years (and became chairman of the school board there in 1982) before setting up as a self-employed grain farmer in 1980. In 1985 he switched to organic farming and continues to manage the 1,800 acre farm with his wife Sharla to this day. They have a daughter and a son.

Political career

Tester was a member of the Montana Senate from 1999 to 2006 and served as Senate President from 2005 to 2006. In the United States Senate elections, 2006 tester stepped up and struck in the internal party code the state auditor John Morrison. In November's main election, Tester defeated Republican Conrad Burns , who had represented Montana in the United States Senate for years , with 49 to 48 percent of the vote. Tester took up the mandate on January 3, 2007 and defended it in the 2012 election against the former Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg with 49 to 45 percent of the vote; the libertarian Dan Cox received 7 percent.

In the 2018 election , Tester was considered at risk because Donald Trump had won Montana by 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential election . Tester works with Trump on a number of issues, such as veteran legislation, but has also opposed Trump. In April 2018, he rejected Trump's proposal for the post of foreign minister, Mike Pompeo , and by publishing allegations against Ronny Jackson - a personal physician of Trump - he had to withdraw his nomination as veterans minister by publishing allegations against Ronny Jackson . Trump then asked testers to resign. Political observers believe Tester is the favorite to be re-elected against his Republican state auditor Matt Rosendale , who is from the east coast and attacked the tester as a carpet excavator . When the results of the Democrats in the Senate were generally weak, the testers won with 50.1 to 47.0 percent of the votes.

Positions and Style

Tester is one of the few Democrats from the Midwest who advocates political progressivism instead of the harsh individualism that is common there . With his unconventional and direct demeanor, he is considered unusually authentic in politics. Columnist Joe Klein described Tester's physical presence (cowboy boots, flat- top hairstyle) as a political statement with which he conveyed that he was not one of the creations of Washington, but a farmer.

Testers are credited with pragmatism, humor, and popular charm. Many of his positions correspond to those of the popular former governor Brian Schweitzer : For example, Tester campaigns against restrictions on the right to own weapons and campaigns against the legalization of immigrants illegally across the Mexican border . Otherwise he supports the line of the federal party ( Pro-Choice , permission for stem cell research, receipt of social security, switch to renewable energies). In the 111th Congress , he voted with the party line 91.6 percent of the time. He campaigns for environmental protection - especially in matters of rural Montana such as hunting, fishing and free access to public land. He is skeptical of free trade agreements because he sees small farmers being threatened by them, as well as by agricultural subsidies for large farms. He is considered to be an effective legislator, having passed 26 of 40 of its own bills (65 percent) in the Montana State Senate.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ A b c Jon Tester (D-Mont.): Why He Matters. In: The Washington Post , 2008.
  2. ^ Tester, Jon. In: Our Campaigns.
  3. ^ Burgess Everett: 'Jon poked the bear': Tester braces for Trump's revenge. In: Politico , April 26, 2018.
  4. ↑ Martin Pengelly: Trump calls for Senator Jon Tester to resign over Ronny Jackson claims. In: The Guardian , April 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ Jennifer E. Duffy: September Senate Overview: Three Ratings Changes. In: Cook Political Report , September 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Andrew Prokop: Jon Tester reelected to US Senate, holding on to Montana seat for Democrats. In: Vox.com , November 7, 2018; Montana US Senate Election Results. In: The New York Times , November 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Klein on Tester: The Democrats' new populism. In: 4 and 20 Blackbirds (blog with an excerpt from the column), July 2, 2006.
  8. ^ Courtney Lowery: The “Good Guy” Running for the US Senate. In: New West , August 29, 2005.
personal data
SURNAME Tester, Jon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Havre , Montana