Jon Tester , the incumbent Democratic senator from Montana, is in a dogfight to retain his Senate seat. Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland, is in a similar battle, to win a Senate seat by reengaging the very same voters who elected him governor for two terms.
Though each face uphill battles to win, people like Tester and Hogan are exactly what the Senate needs to enhance bipartisanship and facilitate compromise.
Tester was first elected in 2006. Montana, a deep-red state, supported Donald Trump over Joe Biden in 2020 by more than 16 points . Yet Tester has found a way to demonstrate to his constituents that the person, not the party, is who should be elected in national races. Unsurprisingly, he is also willing to depart from the president’s agenda more frequently than his Democratic colleagues.
Tester has served Montana well as senator. He is a homegrown Montanan, a third-generation farmer with values that align with the people of the state . Yet the political climate in Washington focuses on who controls a chamber, not who is in the chamber. When elected officials become automatons serving the wills of a party, representation of the people gets lost.
The same can be said about Larry Hogan, as a Republican politician in a deep-blue state. He served two terms as the Republican governor of Maryland, even garnering a higher vote percentage in his second election compared to his first . He has been outspoken against the MAGA movement that has overtaken the Republican Party, going so far as to not endorse Donald Trump for president . He has been highly critical of some of Trump’s statements , indicating his level of independence from many of the current Republican elected officials.
Both Tester and Hogan are currently behind in the polls. They both face fierce headwinds to win their respective elections. Yet lawmakers like them are exactly what the Senate needs.
The partisanship of senators in both parties has gravitated to the extremes. There is no doubt that Tester is a Democrat and Hogan is a Republican. Yet by representing states where the majority of the voters are not in their party, that places pressure on them to listen to their constituents rather than vote straight party ticket. Such accountability is healthy for our government.
The people of Montana and Maryland can do a great service for our nation by reelecting Tester and electing Hogan to the Senate. In the current election cycle, where the overriding theme that permeates campaigns is focusing on what is wrong with the candidates, both these states can step beyond party politics and elect the right person to represent them.
The same can be said about Sherrod Brown, the incumbent Democratic senator from Ohio, who leads in the polls despite his state’s likelihood of supporting Trump over Kamala Harris for president.
How people vote is a personal issue. Yet the consequences affect us all, on a national scale. Slowing the extreme partisan wave that permeates the House and the Senate can only be achieved by voters, one election at a time. Razor-thin majorities in both the House and the Senate have pushed each party to take draconian actions to play safe politics in hopes of grabbing the majority. The risk of stepping out of the crowd is something that neither party is willing to do.
To illustrate this point, one need only look to Liz Cheney, who not only lost her leadership position when she opposed Trump’s election fraud claims and supported his impeachment , but could not get past the Republican primaries to keep her House seat for Wyoming .
It should be noted that there are perks that come with holding a majority in a chamber — the most important of which are committee chairmanships and the accompanying control. Committees are where bills are crafted and discussed , which ultimately get voted on and passed into law .
The next months will be tumultuous as the nation barrels forward to Election Day. In an environment where candidates are unwilling to accept the will of the voters, claiming election fraud even before a single vote is cast, people like Tester and Hogan are the type of people we need in government. They both have personal and ideological flaws, and things that some people will find distasteful. But what they offer is character and a commitment to make sound decisions in the best interest of the country — something severely lacking in Washington.
Sheldon H. Jacobson , Ph.D., is a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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