Robert "Bob" Kelleher (March 30, 1923 – May 29, 2011), was an American attorney and perennial candidate. Starting in 1964, Kelleher ran for public office 16 times, at various times for the Democratic,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

and Republican parties. He ran for

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 U.S. state, state's Montana National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

on five different occasions, losing the Democratic primaries in 1980, 1984, 1992, and 1996; while running on the Green Party ticket in 2004. He was the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in

Montana's 2nd congressional district Montana's 2nd 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 Uni ...

in 1968, and the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

nominee for 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 ...

in 2008. Kelleher served in elected office during the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention. He was a candidate for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1976, where he made the ballot in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Georgia.

2008 U.S. Senate election

In June 2008, he won a surprise victory in a five-way

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

for the Republican nomination against incumbent U.S. Senator Max Baucus. It was his second run against Baucus, whom he also challenged in the 2002 Senate race on the Green party ticket (2.3%). He also ran for the U.S. Senate in 1988. In the

2008 United States Senate election in Montana The 2008 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Senator Max Baucus won re-election to a sixth term in a landslide, winning more than 70% of the vote and carryi ...

, he got 27% of the vote against Baucus. He was snubbed by the GOP post-nomination and received no funding. Kelleher took many positions that were highly unorthodox by Republican Party standards, such as favoring more liberal drug control policies, supporting universal healthcare and affirmative action, and favoring fair trade restrictions. Erik Iverson, chairman of the

Montana Republican Party The Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Montana. It is headquartered in Helena, Montana, Helena. The party is chaired by Don Kaltschmidt. The national committeeman is curr ...

, said, "Bob's ideology, with the exception that he's pro-life, doesn't even remotely resemble the platform of the

Personal life

Kelleher espoused a mix of left-wing and right-wing political views. He was best known for advocating that the United States adopt a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

of government. He opposed

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, and also favored single-payer healthcare. Kelleher spent most of his life in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

. He died May 29, 2011, in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

, a practicing lawyer until his death.

References

External links

The Daily Show program on 2002 Senate race
which includes an interview with Kelleher * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelleher, Robert Politicians from Butte, Montana 1923 births Candidates in the 1976 United States elections 20th-century American politicians Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2008 United States elections 21st-century American politicians 2011 deaths Montana Greens Montana Republicans Montana Democrats Montana lawyers 20th-century American lawyers

2008 U.S. Senate election

Personal life

See also

References

External links