Jon Tester is a retired American politician and farmer who served as a United States Senator from Montana from 2007 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the entire state of Montana and is noted for his advocacy on rural affairs, veterans' health care, Native American rights, renewable energy, public lands, and bipartisan infrastructure deals, including key negotiations on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment. At age nine, he lost three fingers in a farming accident, and he continued working his family's 1,840-acre farm near Big Sandy, homesteaded by his grandparents in 1910, throughout his career. He lost his 2024 reelection bid to Republican Tim Sheehy and now works as a political analyst for MSNBC and hosts a podcast.

Education

Tester earned a bachelor's degree in music from the College of Great Falls in 1978. He taught music at Big Sandy Elementary School while running a custom butcher shop and managing the family farm.

Political Experience

• Served on the Big Sandy Board of Education and Big Sandy Soil Conservation Board.
• Elected to the Montana Senate in 1998, rising to minority whip , minority leader , and Senate president .
• Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, defeating incumbent Republican Conrad Burns; reelected in 2012 and 2018.
• Chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee .
• Known as a political moderate focused on veterans, agriculture, defense, infrastructure, and rural electrification, including the RURAL Act preserving co-op tax status.