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Tester was born in Havre, Montana,[1] one of three sons of Helen Marie (née Pearson) and David O. Tester. His father was of English descent and his mother of Swedish ancestry.[2] Tester grew up in Chouteau County, near the town of Big Sandy, Montana, on land that his grandfather homesteaded in 1912.[3] At the age of 9, he lost the middle three fingers of his left hand in a meat-grinder accident.[4] In 1978, he graduated from the University of Great Falls with a B.S. in music.[5]

Tester then worked for two years as a music teacher in the Big Sandy School District before returning to his family's farm and custom butcher shop.[6] He and his wife continue to operate the farm; in the 1980s, they switched from conventional to organic farming,[7] raising wheat, barley, lentils, peas, millet, buckwheat, and alfalfa.[5] Tester served five years as chairman of the Big Sandy School Board of Trustees and served on the Big Sandy Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Committee and the Chouteau County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Committee.[8]

Montana Senate (1999–2007)[edit]

Elections[edit]

Tester was first elected to the Montana State Senate in 1998, after his neighbor, a Republican state senator, decided not to run for reelection.[8] He was elected the minority whip for the 2001 session. In 2002, he was reelected with 71% of the vote.[9] In 2003, he became minority leader. In 2005, Tester was elected president of the Montana Senate, the chief presiding officer of the Montana Legislature's upper chamber.[8]

Tenure[edit]

His election as President marked a transition for Montana Democrats as they moved into the majority leadership of the Senate for the first time in more than a decade. Term limits prohibited Tester from running for State Senate for a third consecutive term.[10] While serving as Senate president, Tester supported increased funding for public education and cutting taxes for small business owners and the working poor. He also worked to make health insurance more affordable and require public utilities to use more renewable energy.[11]

Committee assignments[edit]

Senate Finance Committee (2001–2004)[12]

Senate Agriculture Committee (2000–2005)[13][14][15]

Senate Rules Committee (2003–2005)[16]

Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee (2005)[15]

Council Interim Committee (2003–2004)[17]