According to Senator Tester’s public schedule, Senator Tester held 218 meetings with lobbyists between January 2023 and August 2024. This figure also does not include meetings between Tester’s staff and lobbyists.
Anti-lobbying sentiments have been a central theme of Tester’s campaigns and tenure in the Senate, with his first opponent, Conrad Burns, engulfed by the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. In a 2006 debate, Tester proclaimed that he “won’t sell Montana down the road by cutting deals with K-Street lobbyists.” In a campaign ad, he said “special interests will never hitch a ride in this truck.” The Senator even publicly took an ethics pledge, vowing to disclose all meetings with lobbyists and special interest groups, and promising not to let them influence how he votes and serves. In 2023, a communications director for the Senator’s office said that he “is leading efforts to close the revolving door of lobbyist influence in D.C.”
Despite all these claims, Jon Tester has accepted more money from lobbyists than any other member of Congress in this election cycle, and ranked 2nd in lobbying money in 2018 and 1st again in 2012 according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign finances. In an article for Bloomberg News, the research director for OpenSecrets, Sara Bryner, said that “lobbyists are among Tester’s strongest allies.” Bloomberg also reported that his meetings with lobbyists included at least one with a former staffer, who is now the chief lobbyist for BNY Mellon, one of the largest banks in the world.
Tester has disclosed in his daily schedule 218 meetings with registered lobbyists in this election cycle according to an analysis by Yellowstone County News. A CNN article from last year also found Tester to be in violation of his voluntary ethics pledge, as he has not reported meetings between his staff and lobbyists, which according to experts is where most of the collaboration between himself and special interest groups would occur. This would suggest that the number of collaborations between Tester’s office and lobbying groups far exceeds the figure of 218 meetings. Since taking office, Tester has accepted more than $2 million from lobbyists.
In a recent post on X, Senator Tester wrote “It’s time to overturn Citizens United.” He is referring to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that led to the creation of Super PACS and preserved the right of corporations to make political donations. However, according to an analysis of FEC data, Super-PACs have spent approximately $23.5 million in support of Tester this election cycle, which is more than any other congressional candidate in the country.
A Washington Examiner article recently highlighted an example of Tester’s relationship with lobbyists. A consortium of Montana tech companies, Headwaters Hub, recently received a $41 million grant through the CHIPS and Science Act that Tester advocated and voted for. Executives at member companies of Headwaters Hub have donated $30,000 to Tester’s campaign over the last two years. While not in violation of any federal laws, this does raise concerns of a pay-to-play system being upheld by Senator Tester and seems to conflict with his harsh statements about lobbyists.
Tester, while known for speaking out against the influence of lobbyists and special interest groups, has continued to be one of the top recipients of both lobbying money and Super-PAC support every time he is up for re-election.
A spokesperson for the Senator said the following upon request for comment from Yellowstone County News: “Every decision Senator Tester makes is based on one thing: what’s in the best interest of Montana and our national security. The Senator gets his best ideas from Montanans and has been recognized as one of the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress for turning commonsense ideas from the Treasure State into law. He proudly holds himself to the highest standards of integrity and transparency by publishing his daily public schedule—something he hopes more of his Senate colleagues will join him in doing.”
Meanwhile, Sheehy’s campaign spokesperson commented the following: “Jon Tester became a multimillionaire on the taxpayers’ dime, took over $2 million from lobbyists, and even broke his own ethics pledge by letting lobbyists write his bills, funneling billions to companies bankrolling his campaign, and taking over $100,000 from former members of Congress turned lobbyists. Jon Tester is bought and paid for by D.C. insiders, and he’s gotten rich the last 18 years by selling off his vote to the highest bidder. It’s time to fire Jon Tester and bring in political outsiders like Tim Sheehy who can’t be bought to restore service, sacrifice, and accountability back to DC.”
