Montana Senator Jon Tester is skipping the Democratic National Convention this week. Instead, he’ll be at a fundraiser with Pearl Jam’s bassist Jeff Ament. Tester is focusing on his reelection campaign and meeting with voters in Montana. He joins other Democratic Senators, Sherrod Brown from Ohio and Jacky Rosen from Nevada, who are also missing the convention to focus on their tough races.
Brown is campaigning across Ohio instead of attending the convention. Rosen is working on connecting with voters in Nevada, a key swing state.
Senate Democrats have a narrow 51-49 majority, so every race counts. Brown seems to have an edge over his Republican opponent, and Rosen is leading her challenger, but Tester’s race is still close.
Political analyst Kyle Kondik points out that attending the convention might not help candidates in tight races and could even be seen as distancing themselves from the party. Several Republicans also skipped their recent convention.
Brown and Tester had called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race before he ended his campaign. Brown and Rosen have supported Kamala Harris, but Tester hasn’t yet.
Other representatives, like Yadira Caraveo from Colorado and Jared Golden from Maine, are also staying home to focus on their campaigns. Golden has said he wants to focus on his local voters, regardless of their political choices.
After Biden dropped out, Kamala Harris quickly secured the nomination, making the convention less impactful than it might have been.
