Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in Washington in June 2012. (Jeffrey MacMillan)
To the surprise of many within the Beltway and beyond, Senate Democrats have chosen Jon Tester, Montana’s senior senator, to chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
Unlike others who have chaired the DSCC, Tester is not particularly well-off (he ranks 63rd in wealth among current senators, according to the Center for Responsive Politics). He represents a relatively poor state with no major financial services sector, which might make it hard to raise the millions necessary for Democrats to be competitive in 2016. And, some have argued, Montana scarcely looks like the diverse cultural and ethnic tapestry that Democrats need to win at the ballot box.
But all that misses the point. As someone who spent two years traveling around Montana chronicling Tester’s 2012 reelection campaign against the state’s lone Republican congressman, Denny Rehberg, I can say that the choice makes perfect sense. The real surprise for me is how the self-proclaimed “dirt farmer” from Big Sandy, population 598, continues to be underestimated both at home and in Washington.
With this move, the Democratic leadership has signaled its appreciation of the brains beneath Tester’s trademark flattop haircut and the political tapestries his seven-fingered grip has woven nimbly. In selecting Tester to head the DSCC — responsible for spearheading the campaign efforts of the Democratic Party in the Senate, including messaging, candidate recruitment and prodigious fundraising — the party chose someone who won two tough races, made inroads into traditionally Republican constituencies in a red state and understands rural values. Democrats probably were going to lose the Senate in 2014 no matter what they did, but a careful review of exit polls suggests that the party lost major ground among white men and rural voters. And while national demographic trends may favor Democrats, they must appeal to these groups to remain competitive electorally in key states.
Here are three arguable skills that Tester brings to the job.
First, he understands how to speak to this constituency in Montana, a state where agriculture still dominates. In 2012, 42 percent of white men voted for Tester vs. Rehberg; two weeks ago, only 33 percent of white men voted Democratic. In that 2012 race, Tester bested Rehberg with 48 percent of rural Montanans’ votes vs. Rehberg’s 45 percent; compare that with the 61 percent that chose Republican congressional candidates this month. Tester, an active farmer who grows wheat, lentils and peas on 3,000 acres and comes home to Montana every weekend, attracts the voters Democrats need to be electorally competitive. Now the question is whether he can help other Democrats do the same.
Second, Tester’s essentially has already done the job of DSCC chair on a smaller scale here in Montana. When Tester was elected to the Montana Senate in 1998, he quickly was tapped for party leadership because his colleagues thought he could bring people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies together. By 2004, he was minority leader. During the 2004 campaign cycle, he traveled around Montana, recruiting candidates to run for the state Senate and then campaigning for them. His efforts helped the Democrats win back six seats and capture the Montana Senate for the first time since 1992.
Finally, Tester understands what political scientist Richard Fenno dubbed “home style.” During the 2012 reelection campaign against Rehberg — the most expensive in the state’s history — I watched Tester navigate his relationship with Montanans. People instinctively like him; he smiles and listens patiently when engaging with constituents and fellow politicians alike. “You’d like to throw down a fishing line and sit on a beach with [him] and have a conversation with him. You don’t have to put on any pretense or airs,” one former colleague said. If Tester applies these lessons to his work at the DSCC, he’ll recruit Senate candidates who fit the places they come from rather than imposing ideological litmus tests.
One last point: Tester volunteered to chair the DSCC. Again, no surprise. Tester’s first foray into politics was as a member of the Big Sandy school board — a job he held for a decade. Why would anyone want to do such a typically thankless task for so long? I put the question to him directly: “I wanted to do it because I thought there was some opportunity to effect change for the better,” he said.
Why volunteer this time? It’s entirely likely that he believes he can effect similar change by recruiting colleagues who will help him overcome the institution’s current dysfunction. He wants not just colleagues who can win, but also those who — like him — are problem-solving pragmatists prepared to build a bigger and more inclusive Democratic Party.
In 2012, Nate Silver’s election forecast gave Tester only a 34 percent chance of winning, yet he bested Rehberg — a tough campaigner — by more than three points. He has overcome steep odds both personally and politically before. Be careful not to underestimate Jon Tester.
David C.W. Parker is an associate professor of political science at Montana State University and the author of Battle for the Big Sky: Representation and the Politics of Place in the Race for the U.S. Senate.
