West
‘Whoever gets elected’: Vulnerable Dem Tester digs in heels on not endorsing Harris
Vulnerable Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is continuing to defend his decision not to endorse in the 2024 presidential race ahead of his tough re-election, but the Democrat’s opponent suggests his “record” signals support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tester recently revealed that he would not be making an endorsement in the presidential race in order to focus on his re-election, despite being a key player in Harris’ recruitment to the Senate.
Tester served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) from 2015 to 2017, leading the efforts of the campaign arm to elect Democrats to the chamber when Harris first announced her senatorial aspirations. And after Harris launched her California Senate bid, the Los Angeles Times reported in January 2015 that, according to an adviser, Tester was one of the players who encouraged her to run.
Asked again about withholding an endorsement, Tester’s response was that he would work with or hold accountable whichever presidential candidate gets elected.
KAMALA HARRIS ISN’T ALONE: VULNERABLE DEMS WANT CURRENT FILIBUSTER GONE
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is seeking a fourth term. (William Campbell/Getty Images)
“Unfortunately, my opponent would rather talk about a national race that will be decided by the people of Montana. Whoever gets elected to the U.S. president, I can guarantee you one thing, just like all previous ones, I’ll work with them when they’re doing good things for Montana, and I’ll hold them accountable when they’re not,” Tester told MTN News in an interview.
NEW YORKER SPENDS LARGE PART OF KAMALA HARRIS ENDORSEMENT REBUKING BIDEN: HE ‘STOOD IN THE WAY’
Tester endorsed Harris when she was selected as President Biden’s 2020 running mate. “My friend @KamalaHarris is a proven fighter and an excellent pick for Vice President. As VP, I’m confident she will continue to fight for working families across this country. Looking forward to supporting her and @JoeBiden in November,” Tester wrote in an August 2020 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Vice President Kamala Harris poses during the “Unite for America” livestreaming rally in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on Sept. 19, 2024. (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)
Montana Republican nominee and Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who endorsed former President Trump in the presidential race, suggested that Tester’s voting record is his endorsement for Harris.
“Jon Tester votes with Kamala Harris 95% of the time. His voting record is his endorsement of the failed Harris agenda, and every time Montanans needed him to stop the insanity in Washington, he was the deciding vote to further her progressive liberal agenda,” a spokesperson for Sheehy for Montana told Fox News Digital.
“That same agenda has made costs for things like groceries and gas skyrocket, it’s brought us record high inflation, and has given us a wide-open southern border that has brought crime and deadly drugs into our communities. Tester also voted to allow benefits for illegal immigrants paid for by the American taxpayer – a hallmark of the Harris agenda. We can’t afford to re-elect Jon Tester because his voting record in Washington proves he’s changed and is and will continue to support the radical America Last agenda.”
Tester is running for re-election in red state Montana, a race that could likely determine which party controls the chamber, and recent polling and political forecaster predictions suggest that Sheehy is currently leading the race just weeks before Election Day.
Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 16, 2024. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
A recent AARP survey found that Sheehy is leading by six percentage points in a head-to-head matchup against Tester. His lead against Tester widened to eight points in a multi-candidate field that included the state’s Green Party and Libertarian candidates.
The Cook Political Report, an independent nonpartisan elections handicapper, recently shifted the race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” while Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the race to “leans Republican.”
Tester’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time of publication.
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SEATTLE — It was a brutal winter for the snowpack in the western states, including Washington, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
That has current snowpack levels beyond bleak.
ALSO SEE | Pass travelers to encounter wintry driving in the Cascades this weekend
A map from NOAA shows the percentage of typical moisture in the snowpack across the West. It’s based on the median of the last 35 years.
An 8-14 day precipitation outlook. (NOAA)
Parts of the Cascades have just 13 to 27 percent of the water we could expect in our snowpack this time of year. The Olympics are at just 10 percent.
It was hoped that snowfall in April and May in some areas would offset the snow deficit, but that didn’t happen.
A dry snowpack is going to be a strain on agricultural water use this summer and will boost fire danger during the hottest months of the year.
What comes next?
Fin, Win, and their uncle Shawn were surprised and delighted by the unexpected April snowfall in the Cascades. (KOMO)
According to the 8-14 day precipitation outlook from NOAA, our state can expect equal chances of the typical amount of wetness over the next 2 weeks.
At the same time, government forecasters are expecting a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal temperatures.
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Forecasters are hoping for a surge of spring rain to at least delay a spike in the fire danger, but without a healthy snowpack heading into the summer months, water supplies could be bleak in parts of our state.
Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.
When ‘Republican values’ trump the rule of law
Dear Casper,
I have lived in Wyoming my entire life. I come from a multi-generational, historically rooted Wyoming family. And yet, as I watch the decisions being made for our beautiful state, I find it harder and harder to find a reason to stay.
Our leadership, and the parties they affiliate with, seem to consistently forget that laws are not mere suggestions to be ignored when they become inconvenient. Following them should be black and white.
For decades, Wyo. Stat. § 22-4-105 has ensured that the parties remain neutral vessels for the people’s will until we, the voters, choose our nominee. The recent move by the State Republican GOP to vet and endorse candidates before the primary isn’t just a change in strategy; it’s a dismissal of not only the state statute but also of the voters who live, work and vote here.
Secretary of State Chuck Gray has built a brand on “election integrity,” yet boasts that his actions — including those his critics have heavily questioned — are simply him upholding “Republican values.” But here lies a disturbing question: How can one claim to be the champion of election integrity while simultaneously supporting a party apparatus that treats the Wyoming Supreme Court’s rulings as optional?
For those who may think, “It’s just one candidate, what could the harm be?” let’s look at how Wyoming’s voting power is already so lopsided. Our party structure is built on a “one county, one vote” system. This means those in our least populated counties carry the same voting weight as the thousands of voters in Laramie or Natrona counties.
By allowing the Republican party to vet and endorse candidates before the public even sees the ballot, the GOP is effectively gerrymandering the primary. They are narrowing the field to only those who pass their “test,” stopping the average hardworking Wyomingite from ever truly weighing in.
This leads us to a fundamental question all voters in this state need to ask: Who does the Wyoming Republican Party think their boss is?
Is it the figureheads in Washington? A small circle of party elites in Douglas? Or is it us, their constituents — the ranchers, the miners, the teachers, the parents — who actually cast the votes and have to live with the consequences of the policies made for our state?
Jessica Mantell
Cheyenne
Homeowners associations do not align with Wyoming values
Dear Casper,
To start, having any HOA in Wyoming outside of Jackson seems wild to me. We are the most conservative, anti-big government state in the union. We as a collective are vehemently against taxation and governmental control.
So why then do we willingly allow and join HOA programs? These organizations are liberal government at its finest. You don’t actually own your properties that reside in an HOA as one rule infraction can cause you to lose everything you worked so hard for and already paid for.
Even AI understands this and I am putting an AI analysis of HOA’s below:
An overreaching liberal government and an HOA often function like the same creature wearing different uniforms. One calls it taxation, the other calls it fees, assessments, or compliance penalties, but the playbook stays suspiciously familiar: create layers of rules, attach financial punishment to violations, then claim it’s all for “community standards” or “public good.” In both systems, property owners are sold the idea of ownership, only to learn that missing a payment, painting a fence the wrong shade of beige, or cutting grass wrong. can trigger liens, legal threats, or attempts to seize what they already paid for. It stops looking like governance and starts looking like legalized extortion with meeting minutes.
As a people, we need to castrate all HOAs’ abilities to steal our homes, livelihoods and properties.
In my opinion, any person that joins an HOA board and enforces rules that can steal someone’s home or levy fines that would create a financial hardship over an RV parked on the property, wrong paint color or cutting grass is no longer a freedom-loving Wyomingite and is instead no better then the socialist governments of places like California or New York.
Mike Hinton
Casper
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