Rep. Rehberg ups the ante on Montana outside-spending ban

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) upped the ante on his opponent, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), expanding a proposed agreement to ban outside money in their race.

Tester sent Rehberg a letter on Wednesday calling for a ban on most forms of outside spending in the campaign, including from super-PACs, interest groups and the state parties. Rehberg's counter-offer expands that to include a ban on all donations from political action committees and lobbyists — as well as anyone not living in Montana.

Rehberg sent a letter ripping Tester for his "newfound concern" about the issue, and pointed out that outside groups had spent heavily to help Tester win his election in 2006. 

"Because your concern is so newfound, you will understand if Montanans are rightly skeptical about its authenticity," Rehberg writes, describing Tester's "nascent concern [as] a self-serving political ploy."

Rehberg then blasts Tester for being the "number one recipient of lobbyist contributions in the entire United States Congress this election cycle."

Tester's offered agreement would have given him an edge in the race because of his strong cash on hand advantage and Rehberg's weak fundraising so far. Rehberg's calls for a return of lobbyist contributions would give him a relative edge in the race.

Tester's campaign responded quickly. "Jon is reviewing Congressman Rehberg's response, which reads like the attack ads we're trying to keep out of this race," Tester spokesman Aaron Murphy emailed The Hill. "The bottom line is that he rejected Jon’s simple proposal to give Montanans the transparency and accountability they deserve.  Saying no to transparency and accountability comes as no surprise from Congressman Rehberg, who just got caught hiding tens of thousands of dollars he took from out-of-state lobbyists."

The two campaigns seem happy to take potshots at each other for now, and it is unclear if they will be able to reach an agreement. But a similar scenario played out in Massachusetts, with Sen. Scott Brown (R) and Democrat Elizabeth Warren scoring political points off each other on the issue. The two eventually came to an enforceable agreement by which they are now both legally bound.

The state has seen a high level of third-party spending. Outside groups have already spent more than $1 million on television and radio ads — which is a lot of money in the small state.

This post was updated at 7:36 p.m.

---