In Senate Race, Tester Runs Against Patriot Act

The Montana incumbent has been only a lukewarm opponent of the intrusive law, but his opponent supports it

Locked in a tight race with Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, wants libertarian-minded Montanans to know that Rehberg supported the much-hated Patriot Act.

He may not want to mention it: Tester called for the law's repeal during his 2006 senate campaign — but hasn't done anything to achieve that goal.

In a Sept. 24, 2006 debate with then-U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, a Republican who supported the Patriot Act, Tester decried the law, warning it undermined American civil liberties.