1988 United States Senate election in Montana

1988 United States Senate election in Montana

←  1982 November 8, 1988 1994  →

Nominee Conrad Burns John Melcher Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 189,445 175,809 Percentage 51.87% 48.13%

County results Congressional district results Burns:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Melcher:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election John Melcher Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Conrad Burns Republican

The 1988 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent United States Senator John Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in 1976 and was re-elected in 1982, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he faced Yellowstone County Commissioner Conrad Burns in the general election, and a grueling campaign followed. Ultimately, Melcher was narrowly defeated in his bid for re-election by Burns, who became the first Republican Senator from Montana in 36 years since Zales Ecton lost re-election in 1952.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John Melcher, incumbent U.S. Senator
• Bob Kelleher, perennial candidate

Results

Democratic Party primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Melcher (incumbent)	88,457	74.54
	Democratic	Bob Kelleher	30,212	25.46
Total votes			118,669	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Conrad Burns, Yellowstone County Commissioner
• Tom Faranda

Results

Republican Primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Conrad Burns	63,330	84.71
	Republican	Tom Faranda	11,427	15.29
Total votes			74,757	100.00

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Montana, 1988 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Conrad Burns	189,445	51.87%	+10.20%
	Democratic	John Melcher (incumbent)	175,809	48.13%	−6.33%
Majority			13,636	3.73%	−9.06%
Turnout			365,254
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

By congressional district

Burns won both congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat. ^[3]

District	Melcher	Burns	Representative
1st	47%	53%	Pat Williams
2nd	49.6%	50.4%	Ron Marlenee

See also

• 1988 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, June 7, 1988" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
2. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
3. "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the General Election Held in the State of Montana" (PDF). November 8, 1988.

Preceded by 1982

Montana U.S. Senate elections 1988

Succeeded by 1994