Out-Of-State Super PAC Lies About Jon Tester’s Record in Latest Dishonest Attack Ad

Billings—Club For Growth, an out-of-state super PAC backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, just launched another deceitful attack ad trying to make Jon Tester into something he’s not.

Here’s what this latest outside attack ad doesn’t mention: Jon has relentlessly fought to crack down on lobbyist influence and cut back on government waste, fraud, and abuse.

He’s voted for groundbreaking legislation banning ALL lawmakers—himself included—from accepting travel, gifts, and meals from lobbyists and is fighting to impose a five year lobbying ban on Congress. He has continued fighting to eliminate automatic pay raises for members of Congress, and passed a law banning wasteful and expensive Congressional perks. And Tester was the first senator to post his schedule publicly online so Montanans could see who he was meeting with.

Tester’s “international travel” was a fact-finding trip to Israel, one of America’s closest allies. More than 200 members of the House and Senate, including Senator Daines, Representative Gianforte, and former congressman Ryan Zinke, have both taken similar trips.

East Coast developer and State Frauditor Matt Rosendale has no such ethical compass. Rosendale has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the insurance industry, and in fact, an out-of-state interest group spent nearly $10,000 flying Rosendale to junkets around the country where he rubbed elbows with insurance industry executives and lobbyists. Rosendale even voted to bring back “special accounts” for state lawmakers where lobbyists could pay for their travel expenses.

“Jon Tester has been relentless in his fight to hold Washington accountable and crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Christie Roberts, campaign manager of Montanans For Tester. “Montanans won’t be fooled by these kind of deceptive tactics from outside billionaires with deep pockets.”

Rosendale’s flimsy relationship with ethics doesn’t end with lobbyists. Last month, Rosendale was exposed for accepted contributions from donors for amounts that are higher than is legally permitted with a tactic that “looks a lot like a money laundering scheme.”

Rosendale has also heavily relied on out-of-state billionaires to prop up his fledgling campaign, which has been plagued by scandal after scandal after scandal. Club For Growth is just one group in a deep bench of outside dark money groups that have flooded Montana with cash, including the Koch Brothers-backed group Americans For Prosperity, Mitch McConnell’s super PAC Senate Leadership Fund, and Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein’s super PACs.

A link to more of the facts can be found HERE.

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