Endangered Montana Sen. Jon Tester raged against the National Republican Senate Committee’s ‘group of morons’ after they mocked him for driving a Prius.
Tester, a bright red-clad Democrat in Montana facing re-election in November, often presents himself as a humble farmer.
However, the NRSC collected footage of Tester, 67, driving the red Toyota hybrid vehicle, which he said he purchased in 2020 to drive around Washington.
There aren’t many farmers in Montana who drive a Prius. “Jon Tester has left for Washington,” NRSC spokeswoman Maggie Abboud said in a statement.
Tester, who will face Republican Tim Sheehy in his quest for a fourth term in November, bristled at the accusation that he had sold out.
Endangered Montana Sen. Jon Tester raged against the ‘group of morons’ at the National Republican Senate Committee after they mocked him for driving a Prius.
Tester, a bright red-clad Democrat in Montana facing re-election in November, often presents himself as a humble farmer. However, the NRSC collected footage of Tester, 67, driving the red Toyota hybrid vehicle, which he said he purchased in 2020 to drive around Washington.
“What a bunch of morons,” he said when asked about Republicans’ image of him as a Washington elite.
Tester, a billionaire, strangely went on to list the various non-hybrid cars the senator also owns for HuffPo.
‘I have an ’86 Chevy. I bought a 2018 GMC. I bought a 2018 Honda Ridgeline. I have a Celica. I have a Peterbilt. I have a ’67 International truck. I have a ’96 International truck. I have a ’78 GMC. Do you want me to move on?’
Tester also bragged about how much he spent on fuel to power the vehicles that help him on the farm.
He asked sarcastically: ‘I’m going to spend $10,000 this week on diesel to fill my bulk tanks that I use to plant my crops in the ground. Does that mean everything is fine now?’
The senator is running for re-election in one of the reddest states and Republicans believe he is one of their best chances of winning a seat as they seek to regain the Senate majority this fall.
Tester has served in the Senate since 2007 and won his most recent reelection in 2018 with more than 50 percent of the vote.
He was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and is the only remaining Democrat to hold statewide office in Montana.
Tester, a billionaire who often presents himself as a humble farmer, then bizarrely went on to list the several non-hybrid cars the senator also owns.
Tester also bragged about how much he spent on fuel to power the vehicles that help him on the farm.
The third-generation farmer, who previously served as president of the state Senate, is the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Tester has touted his deep roots in the state and his fight to preserve its “way of life.”
While Tester ranks as one of Congress’s most bipartisan senators and flaunts his moderate credentials in an increasingly partisan chamber, he has voted for Biden’s biggest legislative priorities, including the American Rescue Plan, the Reduction Act of Inflation and the infrastructure bill.
More recently, Republicans have accused him of radically changing the Laken Riley Act as he runs for re-election in a tough state for Democrats.
The bill would require federal officials to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally and who commit crimes such as robbery or theft until they are removed from the country. The evaluator who previously voted against it as an amendment.
But this year he is running in a state that Donald Trump won in 2020 by more than 16 percent. He will once again top the list in this presidential year.
Tester’s expected opponent in the general election is Republican front-runner Tim Sheehy, a close Trump ally.
Sheehy is a businessman and former Navy SEAL who graduated from the Naval Academy in 2008.
Senator Jon Tester was first elected to the Senate in 2006. Republicans see his seat as one of their best opportunities to help change the Senate. They have focused much of their attacks on their votes for President Biden’s priorities.
Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has touted former President Trump’s support in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
He is a top Republican recruit endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and was endorsed by Trump earlier this year. On Monday he received the NRA’s endorsement.
Sheehy is the CEO of Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting company with multiple government contracts that went public at a valuation of nearly $900 million last year. Financial disclosures also show that he has several investments and business holdings.
Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show he has donated more than $2 million to his campaign ahead of the state’s primary.
If elected, Sheehy would be one of the richest members of Congress.
He has been aligning himself closely with Trump and has focused some of his messaging in the final days of the primary around Trump’s conviction.
On the day Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, the former president posted a video on Truth Social urging Montanans to get out and vote for Sheehy on Tuesday, calling him a “true American warrior.”
In response to Trump’s condemnation, Sheehy issued a statement similar to Trump’s: ‘BOUNDED! New York vs. Donald Trump is a state-sponsored political persecution led by the Party of Joe Biden and Jon Tester. WE THE PEOPLE support PRESIDENT TRUMP!’
Sheehy will also be the first Republican Senate candidate to run an ad focused on Trump’s conviction, according to Politico.
He has attacked Tester for being a top recipient of lobbyist contributions, pointing to monitoring by the organization Open Secrets, accused him of changing his mind on immigration and attempted to link the senator to President Biden.
