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Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester announced Wednesday that he will run for re-election, giving Democrats a boost as their party faces a tough Senate map in 2024.
“I am running for re-election so I can keep fighting for Montanans and demand that Washington stand up for our veterans and lower costs,” Tester said in a statement. “Montanans need a fighter holding Washington accountable and I’m running to defend our Montana values.”
Tester, who is running for a fourth term, is one of the top targets for Republicans given he represents a red state. Democrats hold a 50-49 edge in the Senate after Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent.
Senate Democrats are also waiting for an official decision from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, another of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents from a red state, on whether he will run again. In 2024, Democrats will be defending several Senate seats in states that were won by former President Trump in the 2020 election. This also includes Democrat senators in West Virginia and Ohio.
Democrats will be defending 23 seats in the 2024 cycle compared to just 11 for the GOP.
A recent Morning Consult poll found that 60 percent of registered voters approved of the job Tester was doing. However, it also stated that Tester is the “most popular incumbent who would face a tough 2024 contest.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee slammed Tester in a statement following his announcement.
“The Tester-Biden agenda has given Montanans rising crime, higher taxes, and an open southern border that is flooding communities with deadly fentanyl,” said NRSC spokeswoman Maggie Abboud, according to The Hill. “Montanans are going to send Joe Biden’s favorite Senator packing in 2024.”
#BREAKING: Tester running for reelection to Montana Senate seat https://t.co/Eba2bHGFNF pic.twitter.com/CHZK8aR8P1
— The Hill (@thehill) February 22, 2023
Here’s more from Morning Consult on the most vulnerable senators in 2024:
Arizona’s and West Virginia’s respective souring on their senators up for re-election next year stands largely in contrast to public sentiment elsewhere about vulnerable incumbents.
In Virginia, the past couple years have taken a bit of a toll on Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, though voters there are more likely to approve than disapprove, 43% to 39%, of his job performance. Ohio and Pennsylvania voters, too, are more likely than not to give positive marks to Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (43%) and Bob Casey (42%), while Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin and Jacky Rosen of Nevada (the most unknown senator up for re-election next year) are both continuing to tread water, with approval ratings that nearly match their disapproval ratings.
A new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll found that former President Donald Trump leads Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in hypothetical 2024 match-ups.
“Forty-six percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump over Biden if the 2024 election were held today, compared to 41 percent who said they would support the president. Thirteen percent were unsure or didn’t know. By a wider margin, 49 percent of respondents would vote for Trump and 39 percent would vote for Harris if the 2024 race were between the two. Thirteen percent were unsure or didn’t know,” The Hill reported.
“Trump continues to be the strong favorite among a competitive Republican field, according to the poll. In a hypothetical eight-way primary, 37 percent of respondents would vote for Trump, while 19 percent would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), whose support has dropped from previous polls. Seven percent would vote for former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, the second notable Republican to officially launch a presidential bid and first to challenge Trump. The poll found that Haley did gain some momentum after what many considered to be a successful presidential campaign announcement this week, rising to third place in a potential GOP primary that does not feature Trump,” the outlet added.
Nearly nine out of 10 Democratic voters surveyed in a poll published on Friday say they believe Biden should not be leading the party, while many of the party’s leaders now admit he’s too old to run again in 2024.
The AP-NORC poll asked: “Who should lead the Democratic Party?” Just 12 percent said it ought to be Biden.
