Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester announces 2024 reelection bid as Dems will seek to defend majority
WASHINGTON — Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester announced Wednesday he is running for reelection to keep his Senate seat – prompting a potential sigh of relief from Democrats who will seek to defend their incumbents to retain control of the upper chamber in 2024.
"It’s official. I’m running for reelection,” Tester tweeted, calling himself "a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families."
Democrats currently have a narrow majority in the Senate that will be tested next year when 34 Senate seats are up for grabs. A majority of those seats – 23 – are currently occupied by Democrats.
Tester, a third-generation Montana farmer, is the only Democrat representing the deeply-red state in Congress.
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Who is Jon Tester?
Tester, 66, was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and will be running for his fourth term. He narrowly won reelection in 2018 against current Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale.
The senator, a former school teacher, serves as chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and is a member of the Appropriations Committee; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee.
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What does Tester's reelection bid mean for Democrats?
Democrats who have a narrow majority in the Senate and will need to defend 23 seats in 2024.
While Democrats defend their incumbents, Republicans will likely try to flip Tester's seat red in the republican-leaning state, which Biden lost by 16 points in the 2020 election.
Tester's Montana colleague Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who serves as the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, said in a statement before Tester's announcement that the senator will have a "brutal two years" of campaigning if he runs for reelection.
Who else could run for the seat?
No other candidates have announced yet that they will be challenging Tester for the Montana Senate seat, but it is possible Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana will decide to face off against Tester again in 2024.
The Montana representative received 18,000 fewer votes in the 2018 Senate race against Tester.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrat Jon Tester announces reelection bid to keep Senate seat