The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
The 1964 United States Senate elections were held on November 3. The 33 seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson by an overwhelming majority, to a full term. His Democratic Party picked up a net two seats from the Republicans. As of 2023, this was the last time either party has had a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which allowed the Senate Democrats to override a veto, propose constitutional amendments, or convict and expel certain officials without any votes from Senate Republicans. However, internal divisions would have prevented the Democrats from having done so. The Senate election cycle coincided with Democratic gains in the House in the same year.
The 1960 United States Senate elections coincided with the election of John F. Kennedy as president on November 8, 1960. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. A special election was also held on June 28, 1960, for a mid-term vacancy in North Dakota where Democrats flipped a seat to expand their majority to 66–34. As Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson was elected Vice President, Mike Mansfield became the new majority leader.
Timothy Milford Babcock was an American politician, the 16th Governor of the state of Montana, from 1962 to 1969.
Lee Warren Metcalf was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1953–1961) and a U.S. Senator (1961–1978) from Montana. He was the first of Montana's U.S. Senators to be born in the state, and was Permanent Acting President pro tempore of the Senate, the only one to hold that position, from 1963 until his death in 1978.
Arnold Olsen was a U.S. Democratic politician who served as the Attorney General of Montana from 1949 to 1957, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana's 1st congressional district from 1961 to 1971.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Max Baucus won re-election to a sixth term in a landslide, winning more than 70% of the vote and carrying every county in the state, despite Republican John McCain's narrow victory in the state in the concurrent presidential election. Baucus later resigned his seat on February 6, 2014 after the Senate confirmed him to be U.S. Ambassador to China, having already announced his intention to retire at the end of term on April 23, 2013. As of 2024, this is the last time Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Montana.
John Woodrow Bonner was an American politician who served as the 13th Governor of Montana from January 3, 1949, to January 4, 1953. He was the first Governor of Montana to be born in the 20th century.
The 1930 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 3, 1936. Incumbent United States Senator James E. Murray, who was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1934, ran for re-election. He narrowly emerged from a competitive and close Democratic primary, wherein he was challenged by United States Congressman Joseph P. Monaghan, who represented Montana's 1st congressional district. In the general election, Murray was opposed by Thomas O. Larson, a State Senator and the Republican nominee, and Monaghan, who, after losing the primary, ran as an independent candidate. Murray ended up winning a second term, and his first full term, in a landslide, defeating both of his opponents by a comfortable margin.
The 1960 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 8, 1960. Incumbent United States Senator James E. Murray, who was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1934 and was re-elected in 1936, 1942, and 1948, and 1954, declined to seek re-election, creating an open seat. United States Congressman Lee Metcalf won out in a crowded Democratic primary and faced off against former United States Congressman Orvin B. Fjare, who won in a similarly-crowded Republican primary. Following a close general election, Metcalf narrowly defeated Fjare to win his first term in the Senate.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent United States Senator Lee Metcalf, who was first elected to the Senate in 1960 and was re-elected in 1966, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he moved on to the general election, where he faced Hank Hibbard, a State Senator and the Republican nominee. Following a close campaign, Metcalf managed to narrowly win re-election to his third term in the Senate over Hibbard. Montana was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.
The 1978 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 7, 1978. Following the death of United States Senator Lee Metcalf on January 12, 1978, Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul G. Hatfield was appointed to serve for the remainder of Metcalf's term. Hatfield opted to run for a full term, but was overwhelmingly defeated in the Democratic primary by U.S. Representative Max Baucus of the 1st congressional district. Baucus advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by the Republican nominee, author Larry R. Williams. Baucus ended up defeating Williams by a solid margin to win his first term in the Senate, and, following Hatfield's resignation on December 12, 1978, he began serving his first term in the Senate.
The 1990 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 6, 1990. Incumbent United States Senator Max Baucus, who was first elected in 1978 and was re-elected in 1984, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he moved on to the general election, where he was opposed by Allen Kolstad, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the Republican nominee. Baucus ultimately ended up defeating Kolstad in a landslide, winning his third term with ease.
The 1928 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 6, 1928. Incumbent United States Senator Burton K. Wheeler, who was first elected to the Senate in 1922, ran for re-election. After successfully defeating several challengers in the Democratic primary, Wheeler advanced to the general election, where he faced Republican nominee Joseph M. Dixon, the former Governor of Montana who had previously served in the United States Senate from 1907 to 1913. Though the election was closer than Wheeler's first election, he still managed to defeat Dixon to win his second term in the Senate.
The 1968 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1968. Incumbent Governor of Montana Tim Babcock, who became Governor upon the death of previous Governor Donald Grant Nutter and was elected in 1964, ran for re-election. He faced serious competition in the Republican primary from his Lieutenant Governor, but managed to comfortably win renomination. Advancing to the general election, Babcock faced Forrest H. Anderson, the Attorney General of Montana and the Democratic nominee, and independent candidate Wayne Montgomery of the New Reform Party. Ultimately, Anderson managed to defeat Babcock by a solid margin, winning his first and only term as governor. As of 2023, this is the last time an incumbent Governor of Montana lost re-election.
The 1964 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1964. Incumbent Governor of Montana Tim M. Babcock, who became Governor upon the death of previous Governor Donald Grant Nutter, ran for re-election. He won the Republican primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Roland Renne, the former President of Montana State College and the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Despite the fact that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson won the state handily in that year's presidential election, Babcock managed to narrowly defeat Renne to win his second and final term as governor.
The 1960 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1960. Incumbent Governor of Montana J. Hugo Aronson, who was first elected governor in 1952 and was re-elected in 1956, declined to run for re-election. Donald Grant Nutter, a former state senator, narrowly won the Republican primary, and advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Paul Cannon, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the Democratic nominee. Nutter defeated Cannon by a fairly wide margin, winning his only term as governor, as he would die just a year into his term.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Montana will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Montana. Incumbent Senator Jon Tester is seeking a fourth term in office. This race is one of three Democratic-held U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2024 in states Donald Trump won in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, alongside Ohio and West Virginia. Tester's re-election is considered essential for Democrats' chances to retain the Senate majority in 2024. Primary elections took place on June 4, 2024. The last time Republicans won this seat was in 2000.
