New West writer Courtney Lowery interviewed Jon Tester, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, at his farm near Big Sandy, Montana. Her report is worth a read because when Democrats retake the Congress it will undoubtedly be a result of electing candidates like Tester:
The Tester campaign should enjoy quite the kick-off this week, courtesy of another Big Sandy native — Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament. The band will play a benefit concert for Tester Monday night in Missoula, an event that’s worth a lot just for the buzz and should be good for north of $200,000 in the campaign till. Tester is getting more than his share of attention from some national opinion-makers, notably the liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas, who runs Daily Kos (and who spent some time at the Tester farm this summer), and that should help bring in money and campaign talent too.
Still, it remains a long voyage from the farms of Big Sandy to the halls of the U.S. Senate. Tester must first win what promises to be a hard-fought primary with State Auditor John Morrison, who is no slouch of a candidate himself and probably remains the front-runner at this stage. Morrison, a lawyer, hails from a respected political family (his father was a state Supreme Court justice and his grandfather, Frank Morrison, was a 3-term governor of Nebraska) — an advantage that Tester will surely attempt to turn into a liability.
[The current Republican senator, Conrad] Burns, moreover, remains a well-entrenched incumbent who will almost certainly enjoy a huge financial advantage. Some believe he’s vulnerable, in part because of his close association with indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but he remains popular among traditionally Republican constituencies in what is … still a Bush-loving state.
