Candidates • Dan Cox (Libertarian), retired businessman •
Denny Rehberg (Republican), U.S. representative, former lieutenant governor and former state representative •
Jon Tester (Democratic), incumbent U.S. senator and former state senator
Debates Three debates were scheduled, including one with the
Libertarian candidate whose ultimate influence on the race remains uncertain. The first, between Rehberg and Tester, was held on October 8, 2012, at 7 p.m. at Petro Theatre at the MSU Billings University campus. The debate was televised live by Montana PBS andbroadcast on KEMC/Yellowstone Public Radio and streamed on the
Gazettes website. It was moderated by Steve Prosinski, editor of
The Gazette, with questions from a panel of political reporters. Representatives from the Associated Students of Montana State University Billings, the student government, served as timekeepers. • Complete video of debate, October 8, 2012. • Complete video of debate, October 20, 2012
Campaign Former president of the Montana Senate and farmer
Jon Tester was elected with 49.2% of the vote in 2006, defeating incumbent
Conrad Burns. As of June 30, 2011, Jon Tester had saved $2.34 million in campaign funds. Tester has been accused by Republican Denny Rehberg's senate campaign of depending on financial contributions from Wall Street banking executives and movie stars. On February 5, 2011, U.S. Representative
Denny Rehberg announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate. but just before Rehberg's announcement he dropped out of the primary and announced he would instead seek the Republican nomination for
Montana's at-large congressional district in 2012. Daines later won Montana’s other U.S. Senate seat
in 2014. Another ad against Tester, from the
Karl Rove group
Crossroads GPS, falsely asserted that Tester had voted in favor of
Environmental Protection Agency regulation of farm dust. In fact, Tester had praised the EPA for not attempting such a regulation. The vote cited in the anti-Tester ad concerned currency exchange rates. In early October 2012,
Crossroads GPS announced it would launch a $16 million advertising buy in national races, of which four were this and three other Senate elections.
Top contributors • Although organizations are listed here, it is illegal for corporations to contribute to federal campaigns. Only political action committees (PACs) and individuals may contribute to federal candidates and in limited amounts. These lists actually indicate aggregate contributions from the organizations' PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families.
Top industries Predictions Polling Results Tester won re-election to a second term, albeit by a narrow margin. He received about 4% more of the vote than Republican Rehberg, but the difference in Tester and Rehberg's vote totals was less than the vote total of Libertarian Dan Cox, who received 6.6% of the vote.
By county ;Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic •
Chouteau (largest municipality:
Fort Benton) •
Gallatin (largest city:
Bozeman) •
Yellowstone (largest municipality:
Billings) ;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican •
Mineral (largest city:
Superior) •
Sheridan (largest city:
Plentywood) Source: == See also ==