Former Sen. Tester Rips Harris, Blames Poor Campaign Performance For His Loss
Former U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) attributed his 2024 Senate defeat to former Vice President Kamala Harris' weak performance in Montana during a Friday interview.
Tester, who lost to Republican challenger and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, told "HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher" that the "woke politics" embraced by the top of the Democratic ticket played a significant role in his loss.
"And the top of the ticket did not perform because I don’t think the top of the ticket embraced the issues that Americans were talking about," he stated. "We got wrapped up in all the cancel culture crap."
Serving three terms in the Senate as a Democrat, Tester represented Montana, a state that has leaned Republican in presidential elections for decades.
Throughout his time in office, he positioned himself as a moderate, often distancing himself from the Biden-Harris administration on key issues. He notably refrained from endorsing Kamala Harris after she secured the Democratic nomination.
During his conversation with Maher, both he and the host agreed that the Democratic Party should pivot away from its far-left policies and "court the center" to better connect with voters and offer a strong alternative to Trump’s GOP.
"Yeah, you go to the place where the people are, and that way those disenfranchised Republicans have a place to land because they don’t think the other party’s crazy," Tester said. "And if they’re able to do that, and you do that by talking about common sense stuff that people deal with every day."
Maher then asked Tester why a moderate Democrat like himself was unable to secure victory in the election.
Without directly naming her, Tester suggested to Maher that Kamala Harris’ progressive policies and weak performance in Montana hurt his chances in the state, as reported by Fox News.
"If you want to know the truth, the top of the ticket lost by what? 30-some points? And the truth is the top of the ticket has to at least be competitive if you’re gonna win in a red state or even a purple state," the former senator responded.
In 2024, Donald Trump won Montana by a solid 20-point margin, securing 58% of the vote to Harris’ 38%. In the Senate race, Tim Sheehy defeated Jon Tester by a seven-point spread, 52% to 45%.
Fellow panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin echoed Tester’s view that cancel culture negatively impacted Democrats in Montana, adding that "identity politics" also contributed to their struggles.
Though Maher is known for his liberal views, he frequently criticizes Democrats who align with far-left positions on social, cultural, and political issues.
For example, in September, Maher strongly criticized Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over remarks they made during their only CNN interview the previous month. He specifically called them out for dodging direct questions, stating they were "insulting [his] intelligence."
Maher pointed to Walz's comments, which suggested he speaks in a way that resonates with everyday Americans.
"No, you don’t. You’re a huge liar, like all politicians are," Maher shot back. "I don’t give a s— what you did during the Iraq War. You were in the Guard—I don’t understand why they just can’t—" he trailed off before adding: "They’re just insulting my intelligence."
"When [CNN anchor Dana Bash] said, ‘What did you say when Biden called you and said he wasn’t running?’ ‘Well, I immediately thought of him first,’” Maher said, rolling his eyes. "I mean fracking . . . Dana Bash had her dead to rights. It was like ‘You said this, I have the quote. I’m reading it to you. You said there should be a ban on fracking.’ Why can’t they just go, ‘Yeah, you know what? I got it wrong.’"