The 2014 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from

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 ...

, concurrently with other elections to the

in other states and elections to the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

and various state and local elections. Democratic Senator

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 ...

, who had announced he would retire and not seek a seventh term, resigned in February 2014 in order to accept an appointment as

United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief American diplomat to People's Republic of China (PRC). The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of W ...

. Democrat John Walsh, the

Lieutenant Governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gov ...

, who was already running for Baucus' seat when Baucus was named to the ambassadorship, was appointed to replace Baucus by Governor Steve Bullock. Walsh won the Democratic primary on June 3 and ran for a first full term in office, but withdrew from the race on August 7, 2014 due to allegations that he had plagiarized a term paper while attending the Army War College. Democrats selected

Amanda Curtis Amanda Gayle Curtis ( née Morse, born September 10, 1979) is an American politician who serves as the president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), Montana's largest labor union. Curtis served in the Montana House of Represe ...

, a state representative from

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

, to replace Walsh as the party's nominee at a convention in Helena on August 16.

Steve Daines Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator for Montana since 2015. A Republican, he served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-lar ...

, the incumbent U.S. Representative from

Montana's at-large congressional district Montana is represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million c ...

, easily won the Republican nomination. This was the first open seat election held in this seat since

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

. Daines defeated Curtis 57.9% to 40.0%, while Libertarian Roger Roots won 2.2%. Daines and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of ...

became just the 18th and 19th U.S. House freshmen to win U.S. Senate races over the last 100 years, and just the third and fourth over the last 40 years. He became the first Republican to win this Senate seat since 1913.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Dirk Adams, rancher, businessman and former business law professor *

John Bohlinger John Bohlinger, Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. He ran for the office as a Republican on a bipartisan ticket headed by Democratic guber ...

, former Republican

* John Walsh, incumbent U.S. Senator, former

and former

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the

Montana National Guard The Montana National Guard consists of the Montana Army National Guard, and the Montana Air National Guard. Structure and mission When National Guard troops are called to federal service, the President serves as Commander-in-Chief. The federa ...

Declined

, former U.S. Senator * Steve Bullock,

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...

* John Brueggeman, former Republican state senator * Shane Colton, attorney and former commissioner of the

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) is a government agency in the executive branch state of Montana in the United States with responsibility for protecting sustainable fish, wildlife, and state-owned park resources in Montan ...

, state representative * Melinda Gopher, writer and candidate for

in 2010 * Mike Halligan, executive director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and former state senator *

Denise Juneau Denise Juneau (born April 5, 1967) is an American attorney, educator, and politician from the U.S. state of Montana who served as the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2017. She is a Democrat and the first female Native ...

, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction *

Nancy Keenan Nancy Keenan (born February 14, 1952) is an American politician, and since 2015 the executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. Prior to that, she was elected to several terms in the Montana House of Representatives (1983–1989) and a ...

, former president of

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

and former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction * John Lewis, former state director for Senator

( ran for the U.S. House) *

Monica Lindeen Monica Lindeen (born May 16, 1962) is an American politician who served as the Montana State Auditor. She was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Due to term limits, she was ineligible to run again in 2016, and became a candidate for Montana ...

, Montana State Auditor *

Linda McCulloch Linda McCulloch (born December 21, 1954) is an American politician who is formerly the secretary of state of Montana. She was the first woman to serve in that post. She left her previous post as state superintendent of public instruction due to ...

Secretary of State of Montana The Secretary of State of Montana is one of the elected constitutional officers of executive branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The current Secretary of State is Christi Jacobsen. Organization The Secretary of State's Office is composed of f ...

and former state representative * Mike McGrath, Chief Justice of the

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 ...

and former Attorney General of Montana * John Morrison, former Montana State Auditor and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006 * Brian Morris, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana and former associate justice of the

* Stephanie Schriock, president of

Emily's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

and former chief of staff to Senator

Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressi ...

Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democra ...

, former

Kendall Van Dyk Kendall J. Van Dyk (born March 21, 1980) is a Democratic Party member of the Montana Senate, representing District 25 in north-central Billings, Montana since 2011. Personal life and education Van Dyk earned a B.A. in political science from Mont ...

, state senator * Mike Wheat, Justice of the

(ran for re-election) * Carol Williams, former Majority Leader of the Montana Senate and nominee for

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

* Pat Williams, former U.S. Representative * Whitney Williams, former director of operations for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

Franke Wilmer Franke Wilmer (born December 2, 1950) is an academic and a politician. She was a Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing Districts 63 and 64 from 2007–2015. Before first running for office in 2006, Wilmer was a ...

, state representative * Johnathan Windy Boy, state senator

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic convention

Because Walsh withdrew, a nominating convention was held to pick a new nominee prior to August 20. The state party called a convention for August 16, and voting delegates were members of the State Central Committee, specifically: "one chair and one vice chair from each existing county central committee; one state committeeman and one state committeewoman from each county central committee; all voting members of the State Party Executive Board; the president of each chartered organization of the Montana Democratic Party; Montana State House leadership, and Montana State Senate leaders, and all Democrats currently holding statewide or federal office."

Candidates

Momentary buzz was created by a movement to draft actor

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

for the nomination, with over 1,000 people signing a petition on

Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

and a

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account, DudeSenator, being created online. Bridges, who lives part-time and owns property in the Paradise Valley south of

Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. History T ...

, declined the offer on the

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...

show, noting the disapproval of his wife. Other news outlets noted that he also was not registered to vote in Montana.

Potential

* Dirk Adams, rancher, businessman and former business law professor *

, former Republican

, state representative *

* Anna Whiting Sorrell, former director of the state Department of Health and Human Services and former state director of the Indian Health Services

Withdrew

, state representative * David Wanzenried, state senator

Declined

, actor and part-time Montana resident * Steve Bullock,

, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction *

, former president of

and former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction *

, Montana State Auditor * Stephanie Schriock, president of

and former chief of staff to Senator

, former

* Carol Williams, former Majority Leader of the Montana Senate and nominee for

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Susan Cundiff *

, U.S. Representative and nominee for lieutenant governor in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Champ Edmunds, state representative

Withdrew

* David Leaser, air traffic manager at

Glacier Park International Airport Glacier Park International Airport is in Flathead County, Montana, United States, six miles northeast of Kalispell. The airport is owned and operated by the Flathead Municipal Airport Authority, a public agency created by the county in 1974. T ...

* Corey Stapleton, former state senator and candidate for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

( running for MT-AL)

Declined

Chuck Baldwin Charles Obadiah Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American right-wing politician, radio host, and founder-former pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. As of January 2011 he was pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Mon ...

, Baptist pastor, radio host, Constitution Party nominee for vice president in 2004 and for President in

, former

(ran as a Democrat) * Tim Fox, Attorney General of Montana *

Rick Hill Richard Hill (born December 30, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Montana in 2012. Early life and ...

, former U.S. Representative and nominee for

* Krayton Kerns, state representative *

Marc Racicot Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

, former

Scott Reichner Scott Reichner is a Republican member of the Montana Legislature. He was elected to House District 9 which represents the Bigfork, Montana area. On November 4, 2008, Reichner won the election and became a Republican member of Montana House of ...

, state representative (ran for the state senate) *

Matthew Rosendale Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American politician and businessman from Montana. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district, elected in 2020. Prior to t ...

, state senator ( ran for the U.S. House) *

Denny Rehberg Dennis Ray Rehberg (born October 5, 1955) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1991 to 1997 and as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. Rehberg was the Repu ...

, former U.S. Representative, former lieutenant governor and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and

Jon Sonju Jon Sonju (born December 26, 1975) is a former member of the Montana Senate. He is a Republican from Senate District 4, representing Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a ci ...

, state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in

* Larry R. Williams, author, commodity trader and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1978 and 1982 *

Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...

, former state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor in

( ran for the U.S. House)

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

* Roger Roots, nominee for

in 2012

Independents

Candidates

Declined

, former

(ran as a Democrat) * Sam Rankin, real estate broker (did not qualify)

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 20, 2014

Predictions

Polling

;With Adams ;with Baucus ;With Bohlinger ;With Juneau ;With Keenan ;With Lindeen ;With Schweitzer ;With Walsh

Results

Notes

References

External links

U.S. Senate elections in Montana, 2014
at Ballotpedia
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

{{Use mdy dates, date=January 2018

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2014 Montana elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic convention

Candidates

Potential

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

Independents

Candidates

Declined

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links