The 2000 United States Senate election in Montana was held November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator

Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Montana and later was a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the Senate ...

won re-election to a third term. , this is the last time that a Republican has won Montana's class 1 Senate seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Brian Schweitzer, farmer and former

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

employee * John Driscoll, former

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Reform primary

Candidates

* Sam Rankin

Results

Though Sam Rankin won the Reform Party's nomination for the United States Senate, he dropped out of the race over the summer and was replaced by Gary Lee.

General election

Candidates

(R), incumbent U.S. Senator * Gary Lee (Re) * Brian Schweitzer (D), farmer and former

employee

Campaign

Burns, in a poll released September 21, was leading Schweitzer 48% to 39% that went down from 49% in November 1999. Schweitzer had his polls go up by 11 points. Burns faced a surprisingly difficult reelection campaign in 2000. In February 1999, he announced that he would break his 1988 promise to only hold office for two terms, claiming "Circumstances have changed, and I have rethought my position." Later that same month, while giving a speech about U.S. dependence on foreign oil to the Montana Equipment Dealers Association, he referred to

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s as "ragheads". Burns soon apologized, saying he "became too emotionally involved" during the speech. Burns faced Brian Schweitzer, a rancher from Whitefish, Montana. While Burns attempted to link Schweitzer with presidential candidate

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

, whom Schweitzer never met, Schweitzer "effectively portrayed himself as nonpolitical".Michael Barone, ''

The Almanac of American Politics ''The Almanac of American Politics'' is a reference work published biennially by Columbia Books & Information Services. It aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United States through an approach of profiling individual leaders and ...

'' 2004,

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Group. Schweitzer primarily challenged Burns on the issue of

prescription drug A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...

s, organizing busloads of senior citizens to take trips to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for cheaper medicine.William Booth, "Mont. Rancher Mounts Brawny Challenge; Crusty GOP Incumbent Finds Race Tightening Against an Equally Rough-Hewn Opponent", ''The Washington Post'', October 31, 2000 Burns charged that Schweitzer favored "Canadian-style government controls" and claimed that senior citizens went to doctors to have "somebody to visit with. There's nothing wrong with them." Burns also faced trouble regarding deaths from

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

Libby Libby as a feminine given name is typically a diminutive form of Elizabeth, which is less commonly spelled 'Libbie' or ' Libi'. In recent years, it has been used as a shortened version of the name Liberty. As a surname, it can also be spelled ' ...

, Montana. While he initially supported a bill to limit compensation in such cases, he withdrew his support for the bill, under public criticism, and added $11.5 million for the town to an appropriations bill.Al Kamen, "Town Getting $ 11 Million in Salve From Burns", ''The Washington Post'', May 12, 2000. Burns spent twice as much money as Schweitzer on the election and only defeated him by a slim margin, 51-47 percent, while the state voted 58-33 percent for Republican presidential nominee

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Schweitzer went on to become

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 ...

in 2004.

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 10, 2000
Complete video of debate
October 16, 2000
Complete video of debate
October 21, 2000

Results

References

{{United States elections, 2000

External links

;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Conrad Burns (R)

Brian Schweitzer (D)

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 Columbi ...

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 ...

2000 Montana elections

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Reform primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Debates

Results

See also

References

External links