United States Senate election in Montana, 1996

United States Senate election in Montana, 1996

November 5, 1996

Nominee Max Baucus Denny Rehberg Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 201,935 182,111 Percentage 49.56% 44.69%

County results

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 (inc.)	85,976	100.00
Total votes			85,976	100.00

Reform primary

Candidates

• Becky Shaw
• Webb Sullivan

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^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Max Baucus (inc.)	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

1. "1996 Statewide Primary Canvass - June 4, 1996" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
2. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.