DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democratic Sen. Jon Tester overcame President Donald Trump’s personal interest in his defeat to win a third term by holding on to his base and poaching voters who gave Trump a landslide victory in Montana in 2016. Tester beat Republican Matt Rosendale this week in a close race highlighted by Trump’s four rallies in support of Rosendale. The president acknowledged at his last rally that his interest in the race stemmed from anger at Tester, whom he blames for the withdrawal of his first nominee to head the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, White House physician Ronny Jackson. Trump remains popular in Montana, and each rally was packed with enthusiastic supporters, but that didn’t translate into votes for Rosendale. Fourteen percent of those who reported voting for Trump in 2016 voted for the Democratic incumbent, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of voters in Montana. In particular, 20 percent of women who voted for Trump said they were supporting Tester, compared with 8 percent of men who voted for Trump.”
–The Associated Press, “Tester Wins by Poaching Trump Voters, Holding His Base,” The New York Times online, November 8, 2018