Battle for the Big Sky: Representation and the Politics of Place in the Race for the U.S. Senate by Montana State University’s David C.W. Parker, is about Jon Tester's 2012 victory in the Montana Senate election. Parker has chosen to treat one contest as a microcosm of Senate elections in general and he does so skillfully. The book has this theme: not just “fundamentals’ like presidential popularity and the state of the economy matter in determing the outcome of elections, as many political scientists argue. So do campaigns and “home style.”
Home Style: House Members in Their Districts is the title of a landmark work by political scientist Richard F. Fenno Jr., According to Fenno, a member’s home style is the way he or she relates to the constituency in order to assure reelection. The concept applies just as well to senators. In 2012 six-term GOP At-Large U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg challenged one-term Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Rehberg had a lot going for him. The state’s Cook PVI was +7 for the GOP. President Barack Obama was unpopular in Montana. Rehberg
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