HELENA, Mont. – With his flat-top haircut, scuffed cowboy boots and three missing fingers from an accident with a meat grinder, Democrat Jon Tester did not have to remind voters that he was an outsider to Washington and what he called its “culture of corruption.”
The 50-year-old organic farmer and state Senate president rode that populist horse all the way to a Senate seat, capitalizing on voter disgruntlement over corruption and the war in Iraq to oust Republican Sen. Conrad Burns in a squeaker.
Burns, 71, had not helped his cause, with close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and verbal gaffes that included cursing at a hotshot firefighting crew in a state that sees thousands of acres burn every summer.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Tester had 198,032 votes, or 49.1 percent, to Burns’ 194,904 votes, or 48.3 percent.
Burns did not immediately concede. In a statement Wednesday, he said Tester ran a good race and has the lead, “but it is extremely close.”
“The state of Montana has a process in place, and it is our obligation to see it through,” Burns said. “There is no need to rush to a conclusion when the votes are this close.”
If the margin of victory ends up within half of a percentage point – about 2,000 votes – Burns could request a recount.
Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson, a Republican, said officials do not expect that to happen. “The margin appears to be too broad,” he said.
The campaign was bitter and expensive from the start.
Tester portrayed himself as a Western moderate who owns guns, opposes gay marriage and has a libertarian’s suspicion of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act. He hammered Burns over his ties to Abramoff.
Burns was a top recipient of campaign contributions from Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January to corruption. Burns has since returned or donated about $150,000, but maintained he did nothing wrong and was not influenced by the lobbyist.
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