1988 United States Senate election in Montana

none March 2026 September 2023 1988 United States Senate election in Montana Montana presidential no 1982 United States Senate election in Montana 1982 1994 United States Senate election in Montana 1994 November 8, 1988 150x150px Sen Conrad Burns.jpg Conrad Burns Republican Party (United States) 189,445 51.87% John Melcher (cropped).jpg John Melcher Democratic Party (United States) 175,809 48.13% 300px County results 300px Congressional district results Burns: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Melcher: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% U.S. Senator John Melcher Democratic Party (United States) Conrad Burns Republican Party (United States) The 1988 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent United States Senator John Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in 1976 and was re-elected in 1982, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he faced Yellowstone County Commissioner Conrad Burns in the general election, and a grueling campaign followed. Ultimately, Melcher was narrowly defeated in his bid for re-election by Burns, who became the first Republican Senator from Montana in 36 years since Zales Ecton lost re-election in 1952. Democratic primary Candidates John Melcher, incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Kelleher, perennial candidate Results Democratic primary resultshttp://sos.mt.gov/Elections/archives/1980s/1988/1988_Primary_Statewide.pdf Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, June 7, 1988 Montana Secretary of State July 2, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20131228155755/http://sos.mt.gov/Elections/Archives/1980s/1988/1988_Primary_Statewide.pdf 2013-12-28 dead John Melcher (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 88,457 74.54 Bob Kelleher Democratic Party (United States) 30,212 25.46 118,669 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Conrad Burns, Yellowstone County Commissioner Tom Faranda Results Republican primary results Conrad Burns Republican Party (United States) 63,330 84.71 Tom Faranda Republican Party (United States) 11,427 15.29 74,757 100.00 General election Results United States Senate election in Montana, 1988http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1988election.pdf Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives July 2, 2014 Republican Party (United States) Conrad Burns 189,445 51.87% +10.20% Democratic Party (United States) John Melcher (incumbent) 175,809 48.13% -6.33% 13,636 3.73% -9.06% 365,254 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) By congressional district Burns won both congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.8 November 1988 Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the General Election Held in the State of Montana https://archive.org/download/reportofofficial1988montrich/reportofofficial1988montrich_bw.pdf District Melcher Burns RepresentativeMontana 1 1st 47% 53%Pat WilliamsMontana 2 2nd 49.6% 50.4%Ron Marlenee See also 1988 United States Senate elections References 1982 Montana U.S. Senate elections1988 1994 Category:1988 Montana elections Montana 1988