Tester Time

I had pretty much forgotten all about active participation in a political campaign until last winter, when I met Jon Tester. Jon had announced he would be running in the Democratic primary in an attempt to become the candidate to face off against longtime Montana Republican senator (and huge Abramhmoff lackey) Conrad Burns.

Jon is not your typical politician, which is one of the things I liked about him right away. He is a farmer from Big Sandy, Montana...and an organic farmer at that. One of the first things I liked about Jon was his candor and demeanor. I soon found out he was a third generation farmer and that he had gone organic way before organic became cool or corporate...the chemicals were making his wife sick. I also liked how he conversed and his straight forward attitude. Jon is the kind of person you meet that you like immediately and can tell is a "straight shooter". He's served in the Montana legislature and has worked hard for rural Montanans.

Here is a link to his campaign home page. A friend of mine was heavily involved in the campaign and encouraged me to get involved. It has been a good 20 years since I worked on a campaign (Modissett in Indiana???) but I must admit, it was super fun to be part of. Last night it all paid off. I was at the Missoula Tester camp and Jon was there as the results started to come in and when Morrison conceded...it was an electric atmosphere with smiles and hoots abound. It was an amazing feeling to listen to Jon's speech after being declared the victor and to think about the campaign ahead to unseat Burns.

Awesome!