Jon Tester for U.S. Senate

You did it!

Supporters of Senator-Elect Jon Tester rally and await election returns in Great Falls Tuesday night

After a long night, all your hard work to bring real change to the U.S. Senate paid off — Jon Tester has won the race against incumbent Senator Conrad Burns.

The Billings Gazette reports on this morning’s victory rally in Great Falls:

The flat-topped farmer was introduced at the press conference by his wife, Sharla, who said, “My husband, my soul mate, your U.S. senator, Papa Jon Tester.”

Tester, who got only two and one-half hours of sleep as he waited for election returns in the nail-biting race, said he intends to return to his farm in Big Sandy to get some sleep. He would wait until Thursday before starting to put together his U.S. Senate staff….

“Now is the time for working together,” Tester said. “Now is the time to put politics aside. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get some things done.”

“This is a great time,” he added. “It’s really a great time to empower the middle class….

“We were successful, and now it’s time to produce, to work for regular people, to work for regular Montanans, to move this country forward,” Tester said.

Leave your comments for Jon in the thread below.

With today’s endorsements from the Helena Independent Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (link not yet available), Big Sandy farmer Jon Tester has received support for his U.S. Senate bid from all major newspapers in Montana.

In the last week Tester received endorsements from the Great Falls Tribune, Butte’s Montana Standard, and the Billings Gazette, Montana’s largest newspaper.

Click here to download, print and post a flyer about Jon Tester’s major newspaper endorsements (PDF).

Today’s endorsement from Bozeman Daily Chronicle praises Tester’s plans to address Montana’s “rock-bottom wages,” develop rural communities, prioritize education and “to take an honest look at the status of the war in Iraq.”

The Daily Chronicle says Sen. Conrad Burns experience in Washington is “not enough.”

“[Burns’] inability to censor himself–as evidenced by his vocal outbursts against wildland firefighters, flight attendants, Arabs, African-Americans and even cab drivers–never seems to embarrass him as much as it does the rest of us,” the paper writes.

The endorsement from the Helena Independent Record says, “It seems clear that Montana and Congress need a strong dose of fresh air, and Tester is just the ticket.”

The paper also suggests Sen. Burns’ experience in Congress is a possible detriment to Montana.

“Much has been made of Burns’ seniority in the Senate, but that advantage would lessen considerably in the event that Democrats end up in control of one or both houses of Congress, a real possibility,” the Independent Record writes. “Besides, seniority is an issue that can only be postponed, never put to rest.”

Tester has also committed to being part of “a solution rather than a continuation of the status quo,” the paper writes. Tester will bring change, honesty and integrity to Washington, and he will fight for tax cuts that benefit middle class families.

Jon Tester is on the road across Montana, meeting with voters to talk about his plans for boosting agriculture; creating more good-paying jobs; working to providing quality, affordable health care; making education more affordable; and spurring domestic energy production.

The Countdown to Change Tour continues across Montana through Monday, Nov. 6. Click here for the full tour schedule and to sign up to attend a rally in or near your hometown.

You can also help get the word out about the tour by downloading and posting flyers for the tour and using our ‘tell-a-friend’ online tools.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer joins Jon Tester in his latest TV ad, saying “it only takes about two minutes around Jon Tester to know that he’s on our side.”

As State Senate President in 2005, Jon Tester helped Governor Schweitzer pass a strong legislative agenda, including steps to make health care more affordable, promote renewable energy development and pass country of origin labeling.

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Jon Tester and Sen. Burns faced off for their final debate in Great Falls Friday evening.

Click here for the fact check.