1996 United States Senate election in Montana

1996 United States Senate election in Montana
	November 5, 1996
	County results; Baucus: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Rehberg: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
U.S. senator before election; Max Baucus; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Max Baucus; Democratic

The 1996 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent United States Senator Max Baucus, who was first elected in 1978 and was re-elected in 1984 and 1990, ran for re-election. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced a stiff challenge in Denny Rehberg, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the Republican nominee. Despite Bob Dole's victory over Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in the state that year in the presidential election, Baucus managed to narrowly win re-election over Rehberg to secure a fourth term in the Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Max Baucus, incumbent United States Senator

Results

Democratic Party primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (incumbent)	85,976	100.00%
Total votes			85,976	100.00%

Reform primary

Candidates

Becky Shaw, student loan investigator and 1994 candidate for the Democratic Senate nomination^[2]
Webb Sullivan, retired railroad worker^[2]

Results

Reform Party Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Becky Shaw	930	68.03%
	Reform	Webb Sullivan	437	31.97%
Total votes			1,367	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Denny Rehberg, Lieutenant Governor of Montana
Ed Borcherdt, businessman
John K. McDonald, former State Senator

Results

Republican Primary results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Denny Rehberg	82,158	73.81%
	Republican	Ed Borcherdt	14,670	13.18%
	Republican	John K. McDonald	14,485	13.01%
Total votes			111,313	100.00%

General election

Results

United States Senate election in Montana, 1996^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (incumbent)	201,935	49.56%	−18.57%
	Republican	Denny Rehberg	182,111	44.69%	+15.31%
	Reform	Becky Shaw	19,276	4.73%
	Natural Law	Stephen Heaton	4,168	1.02%
Majority			19,824	4.86%	−33.88%
Turnout			407,490
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "1996 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 4, 1996" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Gruenwald, Juliana (June 10, 1996). "Democrat Yellowtail, GOP's Hill To Contend For Montana House Seat". CNN. AllPolitics. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[Primary_election_results-1] "1996 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 4, 1996" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[Reform_candidates-2] Gruenwald, Juliana (June 10, 1996). "Democrat Yellowtail, GOP's Hill To Contend For Montana House Seat". CNN. AllPolitics. Retrieved June 24, 2021.

[3] "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

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Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Reform primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Results

See also

References