100,004 absentee ballots counted.
Result = 57% D to 38% R.

Keep going Montana! Listen to our episode from Montana too…

Jon Tester, Candidate for U.S. Senate
Democrat from Montana

Governor Brian Schweitzer
Democrat from Montana

Jim Farrell, Executive Director
Montana Democratic Party

Music by Wilco, Marah and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.

Missoula, MT:

Jon Tester
Candidate for U.S. Senate
Montana
Website

Jon Tester was born near Big Sandy, Montana and grew up working on his family’s farm which his grandfather had homesteaded in 1916. Tester also helped run his family’s butcher shop. In the late 1980s, Tester transformed his conventional farm to an organic farm. His family now grows organic wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, alfalfa and hay. The Testers still operate the butcher shop for close friends and relatives to this day.

Jon Tester served for five years as chairman of the Big Sandy School Board of Trustees, and served on the Big Sandy Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Committee and the Chouteau County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Committee. He was elected to the Montana State Senate in 1998. After his re-election in 1992, Tester became minority leader of the Senate. In 2005, Tester was elected President of the Montana Senate, the chief presiding officer of the Montana Legislature’s upper chamber. He took the Presidency just as Montana Democrats moved into the majority leadership of the Senate for the first time in more than a decade.

Jon Tester is now running for United States Senate against Republican Conrad Burns. Burns is being investigated by the Department of Justice for his alleged connections to GOP super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Brian Schweitzer
Governor of Montana
Website

Brian Schweitzer was elected Governor of Montana in 2004. Previous to his election Schweitzer was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the United States Department of Agriculture as a member of the Montana USDA Farm Service Agency committee, where he worked for seven years. While working for the USDA, he was appointed to the Montana Rural Development Board (1996), and the National Drought Task Force (1999).

In 2000, Brian Schweitzer ran for the US Senate against Conrad Burns and lost by only a small margin. In the process, he increased his statewide name ID and built political alliances that helped him during his 2004 campaign for Governor.

Brian Schweitzer is currently one of the most popular governors in the nation, with polls showing an approval rating near 74 percent.

Jim Farrell
Executive Director
Montana Democratic Party
Website

Jim Farrell serves as the Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. Farrell is a native of Delaware and has worked in numerous political jobs all over the country, including being the spokesman and campaign manager for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN).

MUSIC:

Wilco
“A Shot In The Arm”
from The 2000 Bill Of Rights Awards Dinner album

Marah
“The Hustle”
from If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry

Team DoubleSpeak has reached the Continental Divide. We got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains and we’re headed up to Missoula for a weekend of recording, production and much tomfoolery. We’re also seeking out our first delicious steak dinner of the trip (though we have had our share of delicious meat cuts).

Here we are, pulled over on the side of highway 200W to mark the passing over of the Continental Divide.

As my brother wrote earlier, today was a peach of a day. We got to hang out with Sen. Baucus, Gov. Schweitzer and Jon Tester at a Montana Farmer’s Union annual meeting in Great Falls, MT.

Montana certainly has a special brand of politics and it’s a brand that could spread and be effective in other regions of America. I get the sense of a very populist politics, racked full of progressive ideas, that also incorporate the more conservative values of the people who live here.

The Governor talked for over an hour about renewable energy and about the advancements that Montana has made in alternative energies that could free America from its grip on foreign oil.

Those are true progressive values. Forget the social wedge issues that shatter the conversation, these Democrats out here are an evolving brand that sells their record of accomplishment on issues that truly effect the 920,000 people that live in Montana. The people here may not be ready for the national Democratic Party, but there is something happening from the ground on up and I’d watch for a dramatic shift out here over the coming years. Especially if Montana keeps producing politicians like Gov. Brian Schweitzer and future Senator Jon Tester.

Enjoy the weekend. More from this American later.

-Peter

We’ve had a great day today- woke up somewhere in Helena, MT and got an early start interviewing the head of the Montana Democratic Party and a really cool guy, Jim Farrell. Then we drove at 90+ M.P.H. up to Great Falls, MT to meet the trifecta- Governor Brian Schweitzer, Jon Tester, and Senator Max Baucus.

Now I know how folks felt when they went down to Arkansas in the 80’s to see then Governor Bill Clinton speak. Gov. Schweitzer, the Democratic Governor of Montana, is like no one I’ve ever met in my life. Today he was speaking to the Montana Farmers Union, a crowd of over 200 people, and he gave a rousing speech on energy independence (without notes or a written speech) and got the crowd to its feet. I had chills running up and down my spine listening to him pound the podium and fire-up the union crowd.

I am now convinced that Governor Schweitzer is the next great hope for Democrats nationally and I am 100% on the Schweitzer bandwagon.

We are all now sitting in the hotel lobby of a Best Western in Great Falls stealing some wi-fi and then we’re headed to Missoula, MT tonight for some production and fun.

Ha- Senator Max Baucus just walked by and we got a picture with him…nice guy.

I love Montana.

-Matthew

We’re here in Big Sky country at Jon Tester for Senate headquarters getting ready for meeting the candidate later today. Unfortunately his plane was delayed and the first event of the day was cancelled but we’re really excited to meet the man that will be the next great Democratic Senator from the Mountain West.

Now to get some lunch and maybe do some cowboy boot shopping. Lots to come later today…

-Josh

– Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), quoted by the Billings Gazette, in a debate with challenger Jon Tester (D) over the Iraq War.

-Sen. Conrad Burns in reference to deceased United States Senator PAUL Wellstone from Minnesota.

When i’m ready for bed, this usually helps:

There is another way forward on November 7th! Jon Tester.

In the first Rasmussen Reports poll since Jon Tester (D) won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from Montana, Tester leads Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), 50% to 43%.

“It is stunning for any long-term incumbent to be trailing in a re-election bid. It is even worse for a Republican to be trailing this badly in a state that President Bush carried by twenty points in Election 2004. But, even though most Americans think the Abramoff lobbying scandal was little more than business as usual, Burns close ties to the convicted lobbyists has clearly hurt Burns in Montana.”

I love Jon Tester. I think he is the next big name in the Democratic Party. He’s soft-spoken, but smart, accomplished and ready for primetime. I know the staff out in Montana and they are putting together an electoral army.

DoubleSpeak will be talking with Montana’s Jon Tester soon. Stay tuned! In the meantime Volunteer or Contribute to Jon’s campaign.

For all you DoubleSpeak election junkies, here’s a brief breakdown of all notable “Super Midterm Tuesday” results, provided for your convenience in alphabetical order by state:

ALABAMA GOVERNOR: Governor Bob Riley easily defeated fascist theocrat/Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore in the Republican primary. On the Dem side, Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley trounced former Governor Don Siegelman, an alleged bribe-taker under federal indictment.

Although national conservatives still despise Riley for putting a debacle of a tax-hike on the ballot, he has regained credibility with Alabamans for his post-Katrina performance. He is a favorite to win re-election over Baxley, who nonetheless is the Democrats’ strongest candidate.

CALIFORNIA 50TH DISTRICT—In a race that garnered much attention from the national media, former Congressman Brian Bilbray defeated Democratic college professor Francine Busby to win a special election to fill the remainder of corrupt Rep. Duke “Carlsbad Crimpler” Cunningham’s term. There has been enough spin from both sides in the wake of this election to make a brother dizzy. Here are the facts: Francine Busby got 45% of the vote after garnering just 36% of the vote as the 2004 nominee. George W. Bush easily won this district in both 2000 and 2004. Here’s my opinion: this district was always a tough pick up opportunity for Democrats, but to have any shot at getting the House back in November, we’ll have to win seats like these, as well as much more conservative seats.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR—State Treasurer Phil Angelides narrowly bested State Controller Steve Westly in the Democratic primary to challenge the Governator this fall. Angelides, also a real estate developer and former State Party Chair, will have his work cut out for him this fall. The race should be close and nasty. For more on the Arnie campaign, check out Arnold’s Neighborhood. In a side note, former Democratic Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown, a personal favorite, easily won the Democratic Attorney General primary and is likely to win in November.

IOWA GOVERNOR—Secretary of State Chet Culver narrowly defeated former Congressman and state Director of Economic Development Mike Blouin, the hand-picked candidate of Governor Tom Vilsack, for the Democratic nomination. Kucinch-esque State Rep. Ed Fallon also ran surprisingly well. Culver should be a strong candidate against Congressman Jim Nussle, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Culver continues to improve on the stump, has great fundraising prowess, and also happens to be the son of former U.S. Senator John Culver. Vilsack’s candidate also took a whipping in the Ag Secretary primary, thus denying him much needed prestige for a potential dark horse presidential campaign in 2008.

IOWA 1ST DISTRICT—Attorney Bruce Braley narrowly defeated former Mayor and State Rep. Rick Dickinson and former State Senator Bill Gluba for the Democratic nomination in what should be one of this year’s most hotly-contested House races. I believe this is great news for Democrats. Braley is an articulate, progressive outsider with the courage to call W. a liar on TV, while Dickinson was a smarmy conservative who ran a vindictive campaign. Gluba was a well-intentioned space cadet who already lost this seat in 2000 and 2004. Republicans chose wealthy businessman Mike Whalen over State Rep. Bill Dix and former State Party Chair Brian Kennedy in the race to fill Jim Nussle’s open seat.

MONTANA SENATE—State Senate President Jon Tester has quickly become one of the netroots’ favorite candidates this cycle, and with good reason. The progressive, populist organic farmer is a regular guy, not a yuppie professional politician like State Auditor John Morrison, the man Tester trounced in the primary. Although bloggers may claim this race as a first major victory, it is probably Morrison’s zipper that cost him the nomination. A conservative hypocrite, Morrison endorsed the Federal Hate Amendment even though he acknowledged cheating on his wife. Tester is the right man to defeat Conrad Burns this fall and he’ll be a great Senator.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR—Governor Mike Rounds was one of the most popular executives in the nation before he signed a sweeping and patently unconstitutional ban on nearly all abortions. Although he remains the favorite in the fall, South Dakota Democrats are now energized and have more candidates for the legislature than ever before this year. The Democratic nominee is former State Rep. and physician Jack Billion.

Well folks, I hope this primer will help you, come the fall elections, and we ALL hope that all these outstanding Democrats are victorious!

The winds of change – they are a-blowin’ hard out here in the heartland, no matter how much Washington, D.C. pretends they aren’t. Tonight, in a major upset, populist Democratic State Senate President Jon Tester crushed his primary opponents, becoming the Democratic nominee against vulnerable incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT). Tester, a farmer from Big Sandy, ran against the Washington Establishment, ignoring those who said he couldn’t beat State Auditor John Morrison (D) – the candidate that Democratic Party powerbrokers in Washington tried to anoint.

More…

Congratulations to Jon Tester and his family…oh and Jon, go ‘get ‘er done!’

Paul Richards, one of the Democrats running for the U.S. Senate in Montana, dropped out and endorsed Jon Tester. This race is tight and will go down to the wire.

The Billings Gazette:

Paul Richards, the low-budget Democratic U.S. Senate candidate whose poll numbers trail well behind primary opponents John Morrison and Jon Tester, said Wednesday he’s throwing his support to Tester in next Tuesday’s primary election.

Richards said he thinks Tester is the best Democrat to defeat U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., in the November general election — and that Morrison, if nominated, would lose to Burns.

Because the Democratic primary battle between Tester and Morrison appears close, Richards said he doesn’t want to take any votes away from Tester next Tuesday.

Richards said he’ll vote for Tester and is asking his supporters to do the same.

Since the late 1980s Tester has put his stamp of leadership on the family farm by moving toward organic farming. The Tester family now grows organic wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, alfalfa and hay.

Senator Tester recently completed his fourth regular session in the Montana Senate. After election as the minority whip for the 2001 session, and minority leader for the 2003 session, Tester was selected in 2005 by his colleagues to lead as President of the Montana Senate, serving as the chief presiding officer of the Montana Legislature’s upper chamber.

His tenure as President marked a significant and successful transition for Montana Democrats as they moved into the majority leadership of the Senate for the first time in more than a decade.