Tester goes on the attack in Montana US Senate race debate

In this Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 file photo, Ranking Member Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. Political observers say a key factor in deciding the outcome of Montana's high-profile Senate race will be whether independent women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 stick with the president and support Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale this year.

Tester goes on the attack in Montana US Senate race debate Source: AP

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester went on the attack Saturday against Republican candidate Matt Rosendale as the Montana Democrat fights to keep his seat in a tightening Senate race. He got personal during Saturday's debate in Bozeman by contrasting his own Montana roots with Rosendale: "Somebody who was born in Maryland, made millions of dollars developing property, bought a ranch in Montana, claims to be a rancher but has no cows," Tester said.

Trump targets three close Senate races in Western states swing

Donald Trump will campaign in three western states over the next week, going to the mat in a bid to maintain or possibly increase the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Trump's western swing will take him to Missoula, Mont., on Oct. 18; Mesa, Ariz., on Oct. 19; and Elko, Nev., on Oct. 20, White House officials said.

Ban on new mining claims in Yellowstone extended 20 years

The ban on new mining claims near Yellowstone National Park was extended for another 20 years by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke who signed the ban in a ceremony in the park's Paradise Valley on Oct. 8. A temporary ban on new claims in the area was put in place in 2016 under former president Barack Obama. Zinke's order extends that ban on new claims for gold, silver and other minerals on 121 km2 of public lands in the Paradise Valley and Gardiner Basin.

Banks back Democrats in bid to rebuild bipartisan support

Banks are going to bat for Democrats in the U.S. November midterm congressional elections as part of an ambitious strategy to rebuild the bipartisan support they enjoyed before the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Senator Heidi Heitkamp walks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., August 22, 2018.

Ap Fact Check: Emails show Tester did try to meet Kavanaugh

Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale accuses his Democratic opponent, Sen. Jon Tester, of obstructing the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by refusing to meet with him before deciding to vote against his nomination. The claim against the two-term incumbent feeds into State Auditor Rosendale's narrative of Tester as hostile to the agenda of President Donald Trump, who won Montana by 20 percentage points in 2016.

US agency endorses plan to block new mining near Yellowstone

U.S. officials recommended approval on Friday of a plan to block new mining claims for 20 years on the forested public lands that make up Yellowstone National Park's mountainous northern boundary. Regional Forester Leanne Marten submitted a letter to the Bureau of Land Management endorsing the plan to withdraw 30,000 acres in Montana's Paradise Valley and the Gardiner Basin from new claims for gold, silver, platinum and other minerals, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Marna Daley said.

This Supreme Court fight will only deepen our divisions

The political maneuvering required to get Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court is probably the most important and consequential since the Florida recount in 2000, so deftly navigated by the old Republican hand Baker on behalf of George W. Bush. I tip my hat to the Democrats for how they have played a lousy hand.

Anti-Kavanaugh voices Hirono, Feinstein took campaign cash from Dem…

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday evening, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono urges men to 'do the right thing' amid allegations of misconduct against President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
 U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, who told men to "just shut up and step up" in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, might have some explaining to do about her campaign cash. U.S. Sen. Tom Carper's First State PAC donated $1,000 to Hirono's political campaign in June, despite the Delaware lawmaker's confession of abuse.

Donald Trump Jr. to campaign for Rosendale in Bozeman

U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale's campaign says President Donald Trump's eldest son will campaign for the Montana Republican next week in Bozeman. Donald Trump Jr.'s return to Montana marks the president's continuing interest in what's shaping up to be a tight race between Rosendale and incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

‘Red America’ not looking so red right now

Less than two years ago, the conventional wisdom told us that President Donald Trump had transformed the political map: GOP strongholds in the South had joined with gains in the Rust Belt and upper Midwest , giving Republicans an electoral lock for years to come. Then came 20 months of the Trump presidency.

Ap Fact Check: Tester did rank No. 1 in cash from lobbyists Source: Ap

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.

Senate set to confirm Wilkie for Veterans Affairs secretary

After months of tumult, Pentagon official Robert Wilkie is expected to become secretary of Veterans Affairs when the Senate votes Monday to confirm him, taking on the task of fulfilling President Donald Trump's promises to fire bad VA employees and steer more patients to the private sector. The long-time public official says he will "shake up complacency" at VA, which has struggled with long waits in providing medical treatment to millions of veterans.