Vulnerable Democrat Jon Tester Attempts to Distance Himself from Biden in Ad

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., questions during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Hannah Knudsen

Vulnerable Democrat Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is attempting to distance himself from President Joe Biden and his disastrous border policies, claiming in a new ad that he worked with Republicans, “fighting to shut down the border to target fentanyl traffickers and add hundreds of new border patrol agents.”

“When Montanans see a problem, we get to work,” the ad begins, claiming that Tester worked against Biden by working alongside Republicans to secure the border.

“And he fought to stop President Biden from letting migrants stay in America instead of remain in Mexico. Jon Tester knows defending Montana starts with securing the border,” the ad, approved by Tester, states:

However, those claims are not exactly truthful. Tester twice voted against amendments that would have provided funds to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for narcotic and opioid detection activities — once in March 2021 and again in August 2022. The August 2022 amendment alone would have provided $500 million to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for such activities, and the March 2021 would have allotted $300 million from coronavirus stimulus funds to that cause as well.

The ad also claims that Tester worked with Republicans to add “hundreds” of border agents, but in August 2022, Tester stood with Democrats, voting against a motion that would have stopped the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents until 18,000 new Border Patrol agents were added.

Finally, the ad also claims that Tester “fought to stop President Biden from letting migrants stay in America instead of remain in Mexico.” Yet, Tester has voted against Remain-in-Mexico policies in the past. Tester twice voted against amendments putting the policy forward.

A recent ad against Tester points out that the Democrat senator once spoke against amnesty but then voted in favor of amnesty for 11 million illegal migrants. The ad notes that Tester also voted to allow Biden to “stop building Trump’s wall.” He also “repeatedly” voted to fund sanctuary cities, it adds.

WATCH:

The Tester ad comes as the Democrat faces competition and is so desperate he is teaming up with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to plead for donations in a joint-fundraising email sent in March. Meanwhile, his opponent, Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, is leading Tester by three points in a close race, according to a recent poll conducted by J.L. Partners.

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