Tester declines to endorse any presidential candidate

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., will not publicly back a candidate for the presidential nomination.

“No, I am going to let them fight it out,” Tester said when asked if he would openly support one of the three nominees vying to be the party’s presidential candidate.

The move is hardly unusual for Tester. In the race between then-Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for his party’s nomination, he waited until Montana held its primary to back Obama in 2008.

In less than two weeks candidates from both parties will kick off the nominating process with the Iowa caucuses Feb. 1.

Montana will not be holding its nominating contest until June 7, when along with California, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota it will hold its state primary. North Dakota will also hold its Democratic caucus on that date.

So far, Republican Sen. Steve Daines is the only statewide elected official to formally endorse a presidential candidate when he openly backed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla..

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced in October his endorsement of Democratic hopeful former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.