The 1978 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 7, 1978. Following the death of United States Senator

Lee Metcalf Lee Warren Metcalf (January 28, 1911 – January 12, 1978) 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 th ...

on January 12, 1978,

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews ...

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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the long ...

of the 1st congressional district. Baucus advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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. Despite the death of Metcalf, this was not a special election, as one for the year 1978 was already planned as a normal Senate election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

from

Montana's 1st congressional district Montana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives that was apportioned after the 2020 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 elections for a seat in the 118th Unit ...

* Paul G. Hatfield, incumbent U.S. Senator * John Driscoll, former Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives * Steve Shugrue

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

* Larry R. Williams, author * Bill Osborne * Clancy Rich

Results

General election

Results

References

{{United States elections, 1978

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

1978 1978 Montana elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Results

See also

References