List of United States Senators from Montana

Last updated

Current delegation

Montana was admitted to the Union on November 8, 1889 and elects U.S. Senators to Classes 1 and 2. Its current U.S. Senators are Democrat Jon Tester (serving since 2007) and Republican Steve Daines (serving since 2015), making it one of nine states to have a split United States Senate delegation.

Montana State of the United States of America

Montana is a state in the Northwestern United States. Montana has several nicknames, although none are official, including "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently "The Last Best Place".

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

United States Senate Upper house of the United States Congress

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building, in Washington, D.C.

Contents

List of Senators

Class 1

Class 1 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. The next election will be in 2024.

C
o
n
g
r
e
s
s

Class 2

Class 2 U.S. Senators belong to the electoral cycle that has recently been contested in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. The next election will be in 2020.

#SenatorPartyYears in officeElectoral historyT
e
r
m
T
e
r
m
Electoral historyYears in officePartySenator#
VacantNovember 8, 1889 –
January 1, 1890
Montana elected its first Senators two months after admission to the Union.1 51st 1Montana elected its first Senators two months after admission to the Union.November 8, 1889 –
January 2, 1890
Vacant
1 Wilbur Fisk Sanders.jpg
Wilbur F. Sanders
Republican January 1, 1890 –
March 3, 1893
Elected in 1890.

Lost re-election.
Elected in 1890.

Retired.
January 2, 1890 –
March 3, 1895
Republican ThomasCPower.jpg
Thomas C. Power
1
52nd
VacantMarch 3, 1893 –
January 16, 1895
Legislature failed to elect.2 53rd
2 Lee Mantle U.S. Senator from Montana (1895) by James Presley Ball (Detail).jpg
Lee Mantle
Republican January 16, 1895 –
March 3, 1899
Elected to finish vacant term.

Lost renomination.
54th 2 Elected in January 1895. [1]

Lost re-election.
March 4, 1895 –
March 3, 1901
Republican Thomas Henry Carter cph.3b27384.jpg
Thomas H. Carter
2
Silver Republican 55th
3 Waclark.jpg
William A. Clark
Democratic March 4, 1899 –
May 15, 1900
Elected in 1899.

Resigned to avoid claim of election fraud.
3 56th
VacantMay 15, 1900 –
March 7, 1901
Clark was appointed to continue his vacant term, but did not qualify.
57th 3 Elected in 1901.

Retired.
March 4, 1901 –
March 3, 1907
Democratic Waclark.jpg
William A. Clark
3
4 Paris Gibson.jpg
Paris Gibson
Democratic March 7, 1901 –
March 3, 1905
Elected to finish Clark's term. [2] [3]

Retired.
58th
5 Portrait of Thomas H. Carter.jpg
Thomas H. Carter
Republican March 4, 1905 –
March 3, 1911
Elected January 16, 1905. [4]

Lost re-election.
4 59th
60th 4 Elected January 16, 1907. [5]

Lost re-election as a Progressive.
March 4, 1907 –
March 3, 1913
Republican Joseph M. Dixon.jpg
Joseph M. Dixon
4
61st
6 Henry L. Myers cph.3b15990.jpg
Henry L. Myers
Democratic March 4, 1911 –
March 3, 1923
Elected March 2, 1911.5 62nd
63rd 5 Elected January 14, 1913.March 4, 1913 –
March 2, 1933
Democratic Thomas J. Walsh cph.3c02581.jpg
Thomas J. Walsh
5
64th
Re-elected in 1916.

Retired.
6 65th
66th 6 Re-elected in 1918.
67th
7 BurtonKWheeler.jpg
Burton K. Wheeler
Democratic March 4, 1923 –
January 3, 1947
Elected in 1922.7 68th
69th 7 Re-elected in 1924.
70th
Re-elected in 1928.8 71st
72nd 8 Re-elected in 1930.

Died. [6]
 March 2, 1933 –
March 13, 1933
Vacant
73rd
Appointed to continue Walsh's term.

Lost nomination to finish Walsh's term.
March 13, 1933 –
November 6, 1934
Democratic John Erickson.jpg
John E. Erickson
6
Elected to finish Walsh's term. [7] November 7, 1934 –
January 3, 1961
Democratic M001108.jpg
James E. Murray
7
Re-elected in 1934.9 74th
75th 9 Elected to full term in 1936.
76th
Re-elected in 1940.

Lost renomination.
10 77th
78th 10 Re-elected in 1942.
79th
8 Zales Nelson Ecton.jpg
Zales Ecton
Republican January 3, 1947 –
January 3, 1953
Elected in 1946.

Lost re-election.
11 80th
81st 11 Re-elected in 1948.
82nd
9 Michael Joseph Mansfield.jpg
Mike Mansfield
Democratic January 3, 1953 –
January 3, 1977
Elected in 1952. [8] 12 83rd
84th 12 Re-elected in 1954.

Retired.
85th
Re-elected in 1958.13 86th
87th 13 Elected in 1960. [9] January 3, 1961 –
January 12, 1978
Democratic Lee Warren METCALF.jpg
Lee Metcalf
8
88th
Re-elected in 1964.14 89th
90th 14 Re-elected in 1966.
91st
Re-elected in 1970.

Retired.
15 92nd
93rd 15 Re-elected in 1972.

Died.
94th
10 John Melcher.jpg
John Melcher
Democratic January 3, 1977 –
January 3, 1989
Elected in 1976.16 95th
 January 12, 1978 –
January 22, 1978
Vacant
Appointed to finish Metcalf's term.

Lost nomination to full term.

Resigned early to give successor preferential seniority.
January 22, 1978 –
December 12, 1978
Democratic Paul G. Hatfield.jpg
Paul G. Hatfield
9
 December 12, 1978 –
December 15, 1978
Vacant
Appointed early to finish Hatfield's term, having already been elected to the next term. [10] December 15, 1978 –
February 6, 2014
Democratic Max S Baucus.jpg
Max Baucus
10
96th 16 Elected in 1978.
97th
Re-elected in 1982.

Lost re-election.
17 98th
99th 17 Re-elected in 1984.
100th
11 Conrad Burns official portrait.jpg
Conrad Burns
Republican January 3, 1989 –
January 3, 2007
Elected in 1988.18 101st
102nd 18 Re-elected in 1990.
103rd
Re-elected in 1994.19 104th
105th 19 Re-elected in 1996.
106th
Re-elected in 2000.

Lost re-election.
20 107th
108th 20 Re-elected in 2002.
109th
12 Jon Tester, official 110th Congress photo.jpg
Jon Tester
Democratic January 3, 2007 –
Present
Elected in 2006.21 110th
111th 21 Re-elected in 2008.

Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China.
112th
Re-elected in 2012.22 113th
 February 6, 2014 –
February 9, 2014
Vacant
Appointed to finish Baucus's term.

Retired.
February 9, 2014 –
January 3, 2015
Democratic John Walsh, official portrait, 113th Congress.jpg
John Walsh
11
114th 22 Elected in 2014.January 3, 2015 –
Present
Republican Steve Daines official Senate portrait.jpg
Steve Daines
12
115th
Re-elected in 2018.23 116th
117th 23To be determined in the 2020 election.
118th
To be determined in the 2024 election.23 119th
#SenatorPartyYears in officeElectoral historyT
e
r
m
 T
e
r
m
Electoral historyYears in officePartySenator#
Class 1 Class 2

Living former U.S. Senators from Montana

As of January 2019, there are two living former U.S. Senators from Montana. The most recent Senator to die was John Melcher (served 1977–1989) on April 12, 2018. The most recently serving Senator to die was Conrad Burns (served 1989–2007) on April 28, 2016.

John Melcher American politician

John David Melcher was an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States Senator from 1977 until 1989.

Conrad Burns American politician

Conrad Ray Burns was a United States Senator from Montana and later a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican to represent Montana in the Senate since the passage in 1913 of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and was the longest-serving Republican senator in Montana history.

SenatorTerm of officeClassDate of birth (and age)
Max Baucus 1978–20142December 11, 1941 (age 77)
John Walsh 2014–20152November 3, 1960 (age 58)

Related Research Articles

Paris Gibson American politician

Paris Gibson was an American entrepreneur and politician.

James E. Murray Canadian born American politician

James Edward Murray was a United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961.

Lee Metcalf American judge

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 Montana's first U.S. Senator to be born in the state. He was Permanent Acting President pro tempore of the Senate, the only person to hold that position, from 1963 until his death in 1978.

Joseph Toole Democrat politician from Montana, United States

Joseph Kemp Toole was a Democratic politician from Montana. He served as the first and fourth Governor of Montana.

Joseph M. Dixon American politician

Joseph Moore Dixon was a Republican politician from Montana. He served as a Representative, Senator, and the seventh Governor of Montana. A businessman and a modernizer of Quaker heritage, Dixon was a leader of the Progressive Movement in Montana and nationally. His term as governor, 1921–1925, was unsuccessful, as severe economic hardship limited the opportunities for action by the state government, and his great enemy the Anaconda Copper company mobilized its resources to defeat reform.

Wellington D. Rankin was a Republican public official from the state of Montana.

Alma Smith Jacobs American librarian

Alma Smith Jacobs was the first African American to serve as Montana State Librarian. She served as Head Librarian at the Great Falls Public Library from 1954–1973, and in 1973 was named Montana State Librarian, serving until 1981.

2018 United States Senate election in Montana

The 2018 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

References

  1. Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, ed. (1904). "The Province and the States: A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, And of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom" (Vol. VI ed.). Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association. p. 457.
  2. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Paris Gibson". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  3. "Gibson, Paris, (1830 - 1920)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  4. The World Almanac and Encyclopedia 1906. New York: The Press Publishing Co. New York World. 1905. p. 108.
  5. The Tribune Almanac and Political Register 1908. New York: The Tribune Association. 1908. p. 259.
  6. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Sen. Thomas J. Walsh". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  7. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Sen. James E. Murray". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  8. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Mike Mansfield". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  9. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Sen. Lee Metcalf". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  10. Tribune Staff. "125 Montana Newsmakers: Sen. Max Baucus". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

See also

United States congressional delegations from Montana Wikimedia list article

Since Montana became a U.S. state in 1889, it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years. Before the Seventeenth Amendment took effect in 1913, senators were elected by the Montana State Legislature. Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, one from Montana's at-large congressional district. Before becoming a state, the Territory of Montana elected a non-voting delegate at-large to Congress from 1864 to 1889.