( CNN ) -- U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is famous for his flat-top and middle of the road politics . Amanda Curtis , Tester 's fellow Democrat and would-be colleague from Montana , is known for her nose ring and her unabashedly liberal affiliations . Although many insiders dismiss her campaign as a long shot , Amanda Curtis is raising money at a prodigious rate and battling assertions that she is too radical for conservative-leaning Montana . But on many issues , the candidate admits she needs to study up . But time is running out with Election Day a little more than two months away . Curtis , a Butte math teacher serving her first-term in the Montana state house , has already raised $ 180,000 in 10 days , according to her campaign , and sees `` people coming out of the woodwork '' to support her . According to Curtis , who spoke with CNN last week , her nomination as the Democratic Senate candidate `` came from incredible circumstance . '' Curtis added that she had not even planned to seek re-election to her seat in the state legislature , let alone run for the U.S. Senate . An untested candidate . But that `` incredible circumstance '' comes with a price for Curtis and the Democrats who thrust an untested candidate into the national spotlight overnight . When asked her position on the situation in Iraq , Curtis told CNN , `` Give me a little more time . '' On the border crisis , `` I 'll need more time , you know only 11 days ago I was painting my storm windows . '' One area the teacher had a firm answer was Common Core , the controversial national education standards opposed by teachers ' unions but supported by the Obama administration . Curtis said , `` I am excited by Common Core , as a teacher ... but there has been a rush to implement it and that 's the problem . '' Montana State University professor David Parker concedes that `` she 's clearly rough . ... It 's going to take time to get her answers down to sound bite quality . '' Not going to back down . But Robyn Driscoll , a Democratic Montana state senator , finds the lack of polish `` a refreshing change from the usual spin . ... Her approach tells voters she is not going to back down . '' Her priorities : access to public lands , opposition to Rep. Paul Ryan 's House GOP budget , and `` economic policies for the 100 % , not the 1 % . '' Curtis , 34 , has already garnered the support of the state 's unions , former Vermont Gov . Howard Dean 's Democracy for America and Tester , the state 's two-term Democratic senator . `` As Montana 's senior senator , I 'll be supporting Amanda as well as all Democrats who are talking about the issues that are important to Montana , '' Tester told CNN . `` Amanda 's energy and enthusiasm will be a refreshing change and will bring attention to issues facing working families like education and access to our public lands . '' Tester helping out . Tester 's spokeswoman Marnee Banks confirmed that he has been helping Curtis fundraise and plans to continue to make calls on her behalf . When Tester 's counterpart , Max Baucus , left the Senate this year for the U.S. ambassador 's post in Beijing , Montana Democrats were in a pickle . They needed a replacement . They chose John Walsh , a decorated veteran , the head of the state 's National Guard and its lieutenant governor , to keep the seat blue . It was already an uphill battle in the Big Sky state against popular freshman U.S. Rep. Steve Daines , the Republican nominee . Then the plagiarism charges hit after a New York Times story detailed how Walsh lifted large parts of his master 's thesis from others ' work . Walsh dropped his campaign within two weeks , vowing to stay in the Senate . Little time to vet candidate . Rushing to fill the seat , they chose Curtis at a nominating convention with little time to vet her for the job . After the nomination was announced , the state Republican Party circulated a montage of Curtis 's Youtube videos that catalogue her first term as a state representative . In the video , Curtis is critical of gun-rights supporters , calls herself `` an anarchist at heart , '' and explains she had to restrain herself from punching a fellow state representative who expressed anti-gay sentiments . Chairwoman of the Young Democrats of Montana Marissa Perry said the GOP is taking the remarks out of context in an attempt to smear Curtis . `` I encourage you to watch the whole thing . They are not showing the full story , '' Perry told CNN . Curtis , for her part , stands by the videos she contends are being manipulated , and encouraged voters to watch them in their entirety . `` Those videos are my public record , '' Curtis said . Conservative criticism . Conservative critics have unearthed other controversial statements and affiliations , including Curtis ' association with the Industrial Workers of the World . IWW is a far left union movement that hopes to `` take possession of the means of production , abolish the wage system , and live in harmony with the Earth , '' according to its website . Her husband , Kevin , is listed as a local organizer for IWW in Montana . Phil Kerpen of the conservative advocacy group American Commitment , which first published Curtis ' affiliation with IWW , told CNN , `` Plagiarism disqualified a Senate candidate , but extremist ideology , advocacy of violence , and membership in the Industrial Workers of the World results in nothing but praise for his replacement . This is what the Democratic Party has become in 2014 . '' Curtis campaign manager Clayton Elliot was asked about the union affiliation and criticism , but replied by emphasizing her populist approach . `` Amanda grew up in a family that struggled to put food on the table so she knows first hand the struggles of Montana working families . Unlike Congressman Daines , Amanda believes that we must put working Montana families ahead of corporate special interests , '' Elliot said . Dems see her as a net-plus . Democratic strategists see Curtis 's firebrand politics as a net-plus , if not for her race , for down ballot races . They confided that before her entry into the race , liberal voters were unlikely to turn out for the Democratic ticket in an off-year . The Curtis run will change that , they told CNN . The Senate Democrats ' campaign arm , the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee , is widely expected to lay low and not invest in the Curtis campaign , which is down double digits in the latest polling . Professor Parker thinks it increasingly unlikely Curtis will receive significant outside support `` unless she closes in on Daines in the polls and money race . '' For their part , the National Republican Senate Committee is confident that Curtis wo n't be able to breakthrough against Daines , who has a huge advantage in name recognition and fundraising . `` Our strategy will remain internal , but it seems telling that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is telling allies that they 've given up on the race entirely , '' said NRSC spokeswoman Brook Hougesen . But Curtis backers remain upbeat . Driscoll said the GOP `` should take ( Amanda ) seriously '' since she raised $ 150,000 in the first week of her campaign `` just using social media ! '' Calls by CNN to the DSCC seeking comment were not immediately returned .
A late entry into CNN race , John Walsh 's is unabashedly liberal . Many insiders dismiss her candidacy as she trails in polls , but she 's raising money . On many issues , Democrats admits that she needs to study up , but 10 days is not that far off . Curtis stepped in after Amanda Curtis candidacy imploded over plagiarism allegations .