Jon Tester Joins Super PAC as Senior Advisor After Years of Opposing Them

Former Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has joined Unite the Country as a senior adviser, where he will help guide the Democratic super PAC’s “strategic efforts in 2026 and beyond.” The organization says that they are seeking to restore Democrats’ ties to working and middle-class voters. OpenSecrets lists Unite the Country as a single-candidate super-PAC in support of Kamala Harris.

The appointment marks a notable shift for Tester, who previously advocated for restrictions on the very type of organization he now advises. In February 2012, during his first Senate reelection campaign, Tester publicly urged his Republican opponent, Rep. Denny Rehberg, to commit to rejecting third-party advertisements in their race.

At the time, Tester pushed for what he called transparency in funding and the regulation of outside spending groups. His campaign specifically called for both candidates to disavow super PAC support and other forms of independent expenditures that had begun flooding Montana’s airwaves.

“Let’s let our campaigns do the work of highlighting our records and our differences, not shadowy organizations that don’t disclose where they get their funding, not groups that have no regard for the truth, and let’s put some skin in the game,” Tester said on a conference call with reporters in 2012.

The contrast is stark: thirteen years ago, Tester positioned himself as an advocate for campaign finance reform who wanted to limit the influence of outside spending groups. Today, after losing his 2024 reelection bid, he has taken a senior advisory role with exactly the type of organization he once sought to restrict.

Tester faced scrutiny during the 2024 election cycle for accepting significant donations from lobbyists, ranking as the top recipient of lobbyist cash among members of Congress with total expenditures of $315 million during the campaign. He defended his actions at the time stating, “I’ve got policies to write, people to get on board. If it makes sense for Montana, I’ll support it.”

Tester’s evolution reflects a broader pattern in American politics, where candidates who campaign on reforming the system often find themselves working within it after leaving office. This pattern confirms the most cynical constituents ideas that candidates will say whatever they can to get elected. The former senator, who now serves as a political analyst for MSNBC, joins Unite the Country at a time when Democrats are reassessing their messaging strategy following electoral losses in 2024.

Unite the Country has not disclosed the terms of Tester’s advisory role or his compensation. The super PAC can raise unlimited funds from donors and spend independently to support Democratic candidates, operating under the same framework that Tester once criticized as undermining direct candidate-to-voter communication.