The Democrat Party has disturbing connections to China dating back to Bill Clinton.
They wanted to keep this one trail of money under wraps.
And Chuck Schumer was groaning after a top Democrat got caught in this Chinese scandal.
Control of the Senate is up for grabs in the 2024 election.
With Democrats clinging to a slim 51-49 majority, the Senate race in Montana could determine which Party controls the Upper Chamber.
Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is the most endangered Democrat incumbent running for reelection after Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced his retirement.
Former President Donald Trump easily carried the state by 16 points in the 2020 election.
Tester is the last Democrat in Montana elected to statewide office and is in the fight of his political life in this Red state.
He’s always tried to portray himself as a moderate to voters, but he walks and votes the Party line in Washington, D.C.
Tester is trying to court the Trump voters that he needs to win in 2024 by claiming to support conservative policies.
Vulnerable Democrat claims he’s tough on China while taking their money
Tester’s campaign launched a new TV ad touting the hardline that he’s taking against the growing threat posed by China.
China has been a hot-button issue in Montana since its spy balloon was first discovered after traveling over Malmstrom Air Force Base, a major intercontinental ballistic missile location.
“Let me be clear, China is the greatest threat facing our nation. They’ve been undercutting American jobs for generations. Their fentanyl is wreaking havoc on Montana’s communities. They’ve even flown spy balloons across the state,” Tester said in the ad. “So when I found out that Chinese corporations were buying American farmland, I went to work with my Republican colleagues and said, ‘not on my watch.’ Whatever it takes, I’ll defend Montana and I’ll keep our nation safe.”
Chinese companies and citizens have ramped up purchases of American farmland, and many suspect an ulterior motive is behind it.
A company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bought 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, which is home to top-secret drone technology, in order to build a corn mill.
Local government officials in North Dakota denied the company’s permits after growing concerns that the facility could be used for espionage against the Air Force base.
Tester claims that he’s standing up to the Chinese buying American farmland, but he’s more than happy to have them fund his reelection campaign.
Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods possesses roughly half of the 350,000 acres of American farmland owned by Chinese companies.
Smithfield Foods lobbyist Todd Wooten donated $2,500 to Tester’s campaign in July of 2023, according to federal campaign finance records.
After the Chinese government-owned chemical company, ChemChina, purchased agribusiness Syngenta in 2017, the company’s PAC began funding Tester’s 2018 reelection campaign.
Syngenta’s PAC donated $3,500 to the Montana lawmaker that year, and one of its lobbyists also gave him $250.
Arkansas ordered the company to sell off 160 acres of farmland in the state and pay a $280,000 fine for not reporting its connection to a hostile foreign country on time.
Jon Tester wants voters in Montana to think he’s tough on China, but following the money tells a different story.
