Democratic Sen. Jon Tester Bucks Joe Biden Amid Tough Reelection Fight

WASHINGTON ― Sen. Jon Tester has a herculean task this year: win reelection in Montana, a state where Donald Trump is overwhelmingly popular. And unlike his 2018 bid for reelection, he’ll be sharing the ballot with the former president this time, making the job all that more difficult.

Trump won Montana by 20 points in 2016 and by 16 points in 2020. Endangered Senate Democrats like Tester and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who are running in red states,could face even stronger headwinds if Trump draws high numbers of Republican voters to the polls in November.

The three-term incumbent Democratic senator from Montana has been busy drawing contrasts with President Joe Biden’s administration in hopes of boosting his independent bonafides and attracting split-ticket voters. He’s also leaned heavily into rural issues and key Senate accomplishments, including legislation to improve the quality of veterans’ health care.

In an interview, Tester said he isn’t concerned about polling showing Biden trailing Trump badly in Montana and expressed confidence about the state of his race against likely GOP challenger Tim Sheehy, the ex-Navy SEAL backed by Trump. Notably, polls have found him running ahead of both Sheehy and Biden.

“I feel good. We’re going to run our own race based on my brand,” Tester told HuffPost.

“We’ve always done that,” the Carhartt-wearing farmer said of his recent efforts to distance himself from his party. “It’s only been magnified because I’m up for reelection.”

The Montana Democrat has bucked his party in the past, most notably on the issue of gun restrictions.

Earlier this month, Tester joined Republicans in supporting the Laken Riley Act, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so. The GOP immigration bill,