Jon Tester’s big 2012 test

The Montana Democratic senator is involved in a high-stakes 2012 race, one of a few that could shift the balance of power in the Senate.

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Sharla Tester and husband, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), move organic peas as fertilizer for their wheat farm in Big Sandy, Mont., on April 22, 2011. In his bid for reelection, Tester faces a formidable challenge from Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, Montana’s sole congressman, who has won election statewide six times.

Philip Rucker / The Washington Post

The Testers assemble farm equipment at their wheat farm. They both maintain the 1,800 acres. Jon Tester is accentuating his citizen-legislator narrative to show that he’s a different kind of Democrat than President Obama.

Philip Rucker / The Washington Post

“Washington, D.C., can be a bit artificial, but this ain’t artificial,” said Jon Tester, here on his farm in Big Sandy. “And when you start thinking it is artificial, the combine in the tractor lets you know. They don’t give a damn. They’ll break down when they want to break down and they don’t care if you’re a senator or not.”

Philip Rucker / The Washington Post

Bill Graves of Great Falls, Mont., cuts Tester's hair on April 21, 2011. Graves has been Tester's barber for 20 years. Tester's flattop haircut symbolized the endlessly flat and treeless backcountry near the Canadian border where he and his wife, Sharla, grow organic wheat, barley and peas.

Philip Rucker / The Washington Post

A barn on the 1,800-acre organic wheat farm owned by the Testers.

Philip Rucker / The Washington Post

Then-Senate candidate Jon Tester works on his family's homesteaded wheat farm on Aug. 10, 2006. Tester is a third generation farmer. In 2006, the Democrat's campaign was as much about his distinctive look as the ethics problems of the senator he unseated, Republican Conrad Burns.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

“I don’t look like the other senators, but isn’t it time the Senate looks a little bit more like Montana?” Tester would ask in television ads during his 2006 campaign. The then-candidate is seen here on his family farm in 2006.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Then-candidate Tester answers a reporter's questions by phone in his home office in 2006. "He's got this carefully crated image from 2006 that is completely shattered after four years of his record in the United States Senate," said Erik Iverson, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg's campaign consultant.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Tester replaces blades on a tracker with the help of his son, Shon, right, on the family's wheat farm in 2006.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Tester climbs up after fixing a water pump on the family farm in August 2006. Of the three fingers he lost manning the family’s meat grinder at age 9, Tester said, "It changed me from a saxophone player to a trumpet player."

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

While running for Senate in 2006, Tester works on his family farm in Big Sandy, Mont.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

At times, Tester, seen here on his farmily farm in 2006, has gone against his party. He was the only Senate Democrat to vote against the 2008 TARP bailout for banks. In December, he voted against the DREAM Act, which would have created a pathway to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, angering activists among the liberal netroots who helped propel his first campaign.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Tester speaks to Montanans at the annual Sen. Baucus Burger Bonanza in Havre on Aug. 10, 2006. “He’s got a conservative haircut, but he’s got liberal values,” said Rehberg campaign consultant Erik Iverson.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Then-Senate candidate Jon Tester, right, talks with a supporter during a pancake breakfast at Broadwater High School on the Sunday before Election Day 2006 in Townsend, Mont.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama arrives with Tester at an event at Riverfront Park in Billings. “His allegiance to Barack Obama, while I think is probably fitting with his political philosophy personally, it doesn’t fit with the political philosophy of Montanans,” said Erik Iverson, Rehberg’s campaign consultant in 2011.

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post

Tester listens during a January 2007 Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing chaired by Joseph I. Lieberman, (I-Conn.). Among those testifying were New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg with three members of the 9/11 commission.

Michel du Cille / The Washington Post

Tester and his wife, Sharla, ride aboard the U.S. Capitol subway on their first trip to Washington since the midterm elections Nov. 13, 2006.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Tester listens during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in December 2008 on Capitol Hill. A conservative group, Americans for Job Security, is airing a 60-second advertisement on Montana radio stations alleging Tester sides with Wall Street.

Kevin Clark / The Washington Post

In 2006, Tester speaks to concerned constituents about Medicare Part D at a senior center in Missoula, Mont., Aug. 11, 2006. After voting in favor of the health-care law in 2010, Tester said he did so for personal reasons. His wife, Sharla, went without insurance for years, including during the birth of a child, because they couldn’t afford it.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Tester declares victory over incumbent Republican Sen. Conrad Burns at a news conference at the TownHouse Inns in Great Falls, Mont., on Nov. 8, 2006. Tester won by one of the year’s narrowest margins: 3,562 votes.

Brian McDermott / Reuters

Tester's rival in the 2006 Senate race, Republican incumbent Sen. Conrad Burns, center, at a cattle sale in Billings, Mont., Aug. 9, 2006. Tester defeated the embattled Burns in the November election. Tester's opponent in 2012 also has personal baggage, something Democrats have highlighted.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

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