Jon Tester in 2018 MT Senate race

On Abortion: No 20-week ban on abortion

Matt Rosendale (R): Ban. "I do not believe in abortion. I do not believe that you should provide for any exceptions."

Jon Tester (D): Legal. Opposed post-20 week ban. Sponsored bill prohibiting medically unnecessary requirements on abortion services.

Q: Let Planned Parenthood receive public funds for non-abortion health care?

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Praised Trump's support for defunding.

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Support access to family planning services, preventive care & "life-saving cancer screenings."

On Drugs: Medical marijuana ok; full legalization later

Matt Rosendale (R): Supports medical marijuana. State should determine recreational use.

Jon Tester (D): Supports medical use. Feds need to respect vote. Hesitant about full legalization, but alcohol arguably worse.

On Education: Privatizing public schools feeds destruction of democracy

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "Critical.if we are going to see improvement in our education system."

Jon Tester (D): No. Privatization of public schools feeds destruction of democracy.

On Education: Restore year-round Pell Grants, & support Perkins Loans

Matt Rosendale (R): No. "Move the federal government out of the funding that takes place for the colleges & universities."

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Voted for Warren bill. Also supports restoring year-round Pell Grants, & supporting Perkins Loans.

On Families & Children: All couples should have same rights as heterosexual couples

Matt Rosendale (R): No. "Support traditional marriage as being between one man & one woman."

Jon Tester (D): Yes. "All couples should have the same rights to happiness & protections under the law that my wife Sharla & I enjoy."

On Free Trade: Tariffs on China harm our industries & drive up costs

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "We've had a trade war going on for decades. now we have a president who said we're not going to tolerate it."

Jon Tester (D): No. "These tariffs are harming our state's top industries by creating market uncertainty & driving up costs."

On Government Reform: Spotlight Act: no dark money in campaigns

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Voted against state bill requiring independent groups to reveal how money they contribute to election campaigns is being used & where it's coming from. Supports Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling as protecting freedom of speech.

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Introduced Spotlight Act, requiring political nonprofits to disclose donors. "Dark money is a threat to our democracy. I will do everything I can to defend Montanans from this shadowy behavior." Opposed Citizens United ruling.

On Government Reform: Introduced bill to ensure Native American voting access

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. Voted to repeal same-day voter registration. Require government-issued photo identification to vote.

Jon Tester (D): Unclear on photo ID. Introduced bill to ensure Native American voting access.

On Gun Control: Supports background checks & banning bump stocks

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Second Amendment rights are non-negotiable. Mass shootings all involve mental illness & sites where guns have been banned.

Jon Tester (D): Backs Second Amendment rights, but would consider "background checks, banning bump stocks & making sure our databases are talking to one another."

On Health Care: I won't give up on repealing & replacing ObamaCare

Matt Rosendale (R): Repeal. "I won't give up on repealing & replacing ObamaCare." Voted against MT Medicaid expansion.

Jon Tester (D): Support. Not perfect, but has helped rural hospitals & health centers, provided families with coverage, & stopped big insurance companies from denying folks coverage. Supports Medicaid expansion.

On Immigration: Bipartisan reform with earned path to citizenship

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Rule of law has been ignored & illegal immigrants allowed to flow freely into this country without consequence.

Jon Tester (D): Rejected 2010 Dream Act. Criticized Trump ending DACA. Supported bipartisan bill with increased border security, visa rule tightening & earned path to citizenship.

On Jobs: Raise minimum wage from $7.25/hr to $10.10

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Called Obama's proposal to do this "ridiculous."

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Would "help thousands of Montanans make ends meet."

On Social Security: Opposes any plan to privatize

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. Let younger Americans invest privately instead of paying in.

Jon Tester (D): No. Opposes any plan to privatize.

On Tax Reform: Trump tax cuts were a disastrous handout for jet-owners

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "Bigger paychecks & more jobs for Montanans. This is your money & you should be deciding how to invest or spend it--not the government."

Jon Tester (D): "Disastrous." "Need reform for hardworking Montanans, not a handout for jet-owners paid for by our kids & grandkids."

On Technology: Lead the world in clean technology

Matt Rosendale (R): No. "The climate does change. The question is how much impact do humans have on it & how much impact can we have on it by dramatically imposing draconian restrictions on our businesses."

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Climate change is real & human activity significantly contributes. "The rest of the world is together on this. We've got an incredible opportunity to create jobs & lead the world in clean technology."

Q: Support government support for renewable energy?

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Renewable power is a "grand idea" but government shouldn't subsidize.

Jon Tester (D): Yes. Supports tax credits, expedited permitting, utility renewable mandates, & carbon capture credits for coal plants.

On Technology: 2008 stimulus was necessary; invest more in infrastructure

Matt Rosendale (R): No. Cut government & return money in tax cuts.

Jon Tester (D): Yes. 2008 stimulus was necessary. Need to invest more in infrastructure.

On Technology: Repealing Net Neutrality handed Internet to corporations

Matt Rosendale (R): No public statements found.

Jon Tester (D): Yes. "Repealing Net Neutrality handed our Internet to large corporations." Decision "hurts commerce, small business, education, & healthcare."

On War & Peace: Iran nuclear treaty is only option

Matt Rosendale (R): Yes.

Jon Tester (D): No. Supports treaty as "only option" to prevent nuclear weapons development.

On Immigration: FactCheck: Opposes sanctuary cities, but don't punish them

NRSC ad says Tester "supported amnesty and sanctuary cities":
• Tester says he opposes sanctuary cities, but has voted several times against GOP bills aiming to punish these cities, which sometimes refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. He says the bills unduly penalize law enforcement in these cities by withholding grant money, making those cities less safe.
• The "amnesty" charge stems from his 2013 vote for a comprehensive immigration bill, which beefed up border security and gave illegal aliens a path to citizenship that would have taken years-- but also allowed them to stay in the country under provisional legal status. It ultimately failed.

On Principles & Values: AdWatch: Voted with Trump 52%, but against key initiatives

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE ad dubbed "the Tester Test":
• Tester has voted against President Trump "more than 60% of the time": One independent group tracking key votes says Tester has supported Trump's position just 37% of the time.
• However, Congressional Quarterly, which tracks all votes in Congress, said Tester voted with Trump on 52% of the votes where the president took a position in 2017--one of the higher rankings among Senate Democrats.
• Tester has voted against Trump's position on many key items, including repeal of "ObamaCare," against the 2017 GOP tax-cut bill, for reinstating "net neutrality rules," for a bipartisan immigration bill, and for a bill saying certain tariffs should require the approval of Congress.

On Tax Reform: GOP tax plan saddles future generations with more debt

"This tax scheme not only, it also raises taxes on Montana families in the long run, forces cuts to Medicare, and caps deductions that allow Montanans to keep more of their hard-earned money in their wallets," Tester said. "This all takes place while corporate tax cuts remain permanent, inflating the bank accounts of big business and leaving the folks who do the hard work with smaller paychecks."

Rosendale said Tester's vote against the bill was one of the reasons he is motivated to run for U.S. Senate.

On Gun Control: AdWatch: Check if gun buyers are on terrorist watch-list

We decided to investigate whether Tester supports a national gun registry. It turns out the opposite is true. A national gun registry [means] the government has a single, consolidated list of all guns and all gun owners across the country.

Rosendale's campaign pointed us to a vote Tester cast in favor of a 2015 amendment sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that failed in the Senate. Feinstein sought to extend the FBI's [gun watch] list to those on the US government's consolidated terror watchlist. The Rosendale campaign's argument appears to be as follows: Because the terror watchlist has mistakenly listed innocent people, the watchlist could be used as a national gun registry. We rate this "Pants on Fire."

On Principles & Values: No safe haven for neo-Nazi white nationalists

The lawmakers include both Democrats and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, recently picked by Republican President-elect Donald Trump to be interior secretary. "We say to those few who seek to publicize anti-Semitic views that they shall find no safe haven here," Zinke wrote in an open letter also signed by Gov. Steve Bullock (D); U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R), and Jon Tester (D); and Attorney General Tim Fox (R).

Neo-Nazis plan to march in January in the mountain ski town of Whitefish in Montana's remote and rugged northwestern reaches. The march is to support the mother of white nationalist leader Richard Spencer. Sherry Spencer is facing pressure from community members to sell a building she owns in Whitefish because of its ties to her son and to disavow her son's beliefs.