Democrats selected Sen. Jon Tester on Thursday as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2016 election cycle.
Tester, a farmer from Montana, will be charged with helping Democrats win back Senate seats, after having ceded the majority to Republicans last week.
Tester said he would strive in his new role “to recruit and support candidates who understand the issues facing regular, working Americans.”
“Our country needs leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves and responsibly govern to move our nation forward,” Tester said. “We need senators who support policies that strengthen the middle class, continue to grow our economy, and create prosperity for all Americans.”
Tester will take the reins from Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado. Bennet aimed to engineer an unprecedented turnout operation for Democrats during a midterm election cycle, but was unsuccessful. Even his home-state colleague Sen. Mark Udall fell in the Republican wave.
By choosing Tester, who hails from a Republican-leaning state, Democrats might be looking for insight into how to prevail in such challenging battlegrounds.
“Jon Tester knows how to win tough races and will have the trust and loyalty of the entire Democratic caucus behind him in our fight to take back the majority in 2016,” outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
