Looks like #TwoFacedTester has got some explaining to do. The Associated Press confirms today Senator Tester did rank “No. 1 in cash from lobbyists” despite promising that he was going to give Montana the “greatest representation, not encumbered by high-dollar lobbyists.”
President Trump said it best last week, “Jon Tester will never drain the swamp because he happens to live in the swamp and he loves the swamp.”
In case you missed it…
AP FACT CHECK: Tester did rank No. 1 in cash from lobbyists
Associated Press
September 10, 2018
https://apnews.com/7b34826f284f4465a7678178e22eb1d1
Republicans say in a television ad that Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester has taken more money from lobbyists than any other member of Congress as he seeks to fend off a challenge from Republican State Auditor Matt Rosendale.
Tester, a third-generation farmer and former president of the Montana Senate, has a reputation as a populist. He frequently criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that allowed more money to flow into political campaigns. He was first elected in 2006 over former Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, whose defeat was attributed in part to a corruption scandal involving Burns’ ties to “super-lobbyist” Jack Abramoff.
Republicans contend that over his two terms, Tester became enmeshed in the same corrupt Washington establishment that he promised as a candidate to fight. Asked about the allegation that he’s the top recipient of lobbyist cash, Tester initially responded, “That’s bull.”
A look at the claim:
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE: “Jon Tester was No. 1 in Cash from Lobbyists in 2018,” in an advertisement released September 6.
THE FACTS: The Republican group got it right — Tester briefly was the top recipient in Congress of money from lobbyists, according to campaign contribution data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Similar claims against Tester have been made by others, including President Donald Trump at a Thursday campaign rally for Rosendale. Trump said Tester has “taken more cash from lobbyists than almost anyone in the entire Senate.”
Rosendale tweeted last month that Tester was receiving “the most cash” from lobbyists and had “gone Washington.”
When Rosendale posted his tweet on Aug. 24, representatives of the lobbying industry had contributed $394,478 to Tester’s campaign during the 2018 election cycle, according to the center’s website, opensecrets.org.
That made him tops among members of Congress receiving lobbying industry contributions, just ahead of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who had $381,033.
The money includes donations from people who work in government relations firms or as government relation consultants, political committees acting on behalf of lobbying companies and state-level lobbyists.
Tester ranked No. 2 among members of the House and Senate receiving contributions from a second group, federally-registered lobbyists and their families. That group gave a combined $497,213 to the Democrat’s re-election campaign.