Former member of Congress · last served 118th Congress

Jon Tester

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · MontanaSenate 2007–2025

Jon Tester was a Democratic U.S. senator from Montana, first elected to Congress in 2007, who voted with most Democrats on 93% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 17 bills that became law (113th–118th Congress).

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433Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–118th Congress (excludes amendments)

30Passed a chamberof 378 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)

17Became law16 substantive + 1 ceremonial · 113th–118th Congress

17Broke with partyof 250 yes/no votes, 112th (6.8%)

1Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (0.4%)

$0Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: none on record

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

YeaOn Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
NayOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected

5 most recent bills

S. 2513 Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2024
Dec 23, 2024 · Became Public Law No: 118-196.
S. 4442 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2024
Dec 4, 2024 · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 662.
S. 3346 Montana Headwaters Legacy Act
Nov 21, 2024 · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 598.
S. 5210 BRAVE Act of 2024
Sep 25, 2024 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
S.Res. 879 A resolution permitting the collection of clothing, toys, food, and housewares during the holiday season for charitable purposes in Senate buildings.
Sep 25, 2024 · Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6467; text: CR S6457)

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Tester has won

Sen. Tester has won 3 U.S. Senate elections (2006, 2012, 2018). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.9 to 3.7 points.

Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed

Elections won3 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed

Closest win: 0.9 points2006, MT Senate

Won an open seat or took one from the other party1 of 3 elections (open seat or changed party)

Seat history, Montana Senate (class 1)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Conrad Burns (R) 1988–2000 → Jon Tester (D) 2006–2018 → Tim Sheehy (R) 2024.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Montana done while Sen. Tester served?

2007 to 2024 in Montana: typical household income was up 14% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was down 3.9 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 2.2 points.

Typical household income · after inflation

Montana: $66.2K in 2007 → $75.3K in 2024

Montana up 14%U.S. up 6%

Share of people below the poverty line

Montana: 14.1% in 2007 → 10.2% in 2024

Montana down 3.9 pointsU.S. down 0.8 points

Share of workers looking for a job

Montana: 5.2% in 2007 → 3.0% in 2024

Montana down 2.2 pointsU.S. down 1.7 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Montana during Tester’s time representing it (2007 to 2025). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Montana’s borders do not change, so every year is comparable. The Census Bureau has no 2020 yearly estimate.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

118th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 76 bills sponsored.

Record	Bills	Source
Bills sponsored	76	Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed	5	See the 5 →
With a committee report listed	4	See the 4 →

Evidence

How counted: Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 118th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields: cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed: October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.