who is the new senator of montana?
Jon Tester
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 In an unusual political circumstance , the 2001 legislative elections returned a senate with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats , with each party having 20 senators . Both sides negotiated to choose two senators from their respective parties to serve as co @-@ presidents . Because of an 8 @-@ day gap between the seating of the new state legislature and the inauguration of Governor @-@ elect Jim McGreevey , four men held the position of acting governor : 

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 Due to the controversy over the effects of the Seventeenth Amendment , advocates have emerged for both reform and / or repeal of the amendment . Under President Barack Obama 's administration in 2009 , four sitting Democratic senators left the Senate for appointed executive branch positions : Barack Obama ( President ) , Joe Biden ( Vice President ) , Hillary Rodham Clinton ( Secretary of State ) , and Ken Salazar ( Secretary of the Interior ) . Controversies developed about the successor appointments made by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and New York Governor David Paterson . New interest was aroused in abolishing the provision for the Senate appointment by the governor . 

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 On July 28 , 2009 , Bunning announced that he would not run for reelection in the face of insufficient fundraising . The announcement left only Paul and Secretary of State Trey Grayson as the remaining candidates for the Republican nomination , with Paul announcing on August 5 , 2009 , that he would officially run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican . The announcement was made through a series of national TV events , radio , and other programs , as well as newspapers in Kentucky . 

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 Vilsack was later nominated by President Obama to serve as the United States Secretary of Agriculture in his administration . He was confirmed for the post by the Senate on Inauguration Day . 

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 In late July , during the height of the debt ceiling crisis , McCotter canceled several appearances in Iowa and returned to Washington . He supported the plan of House Speaker John Boehner , and voted in favor of the compromise bill . He was the only presidential candidate in the House of Representatives to approve the bill in Congress since both fellow members Bachmann and Ron Paul voted against it . 
