1982 United States Senate election in Montana

none March 2026 September 2023 1982 United States Senate election in Montana Montana presidential no 1976 United States Senate election in Montana 1976 1988 United States Senate election in Montana 1988 November 2, 1982 File:John Melcher (cropped).jpg 150x150px John Melcher Democratic Party (United States) 174,861 54.46% 3x4.svg Larry R. Williams Republican Party (United States) 133,789 41.67% 1982 United States Senate election in Montana results map by county.svg 300px County resultsMelcher: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80%Williams: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% U.S. Senator John Melcher Democratic Party (United States) John Melcher Democratic Party (United States) The 1982 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent United States Senator John Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in 1976, opted to run for re-election. He won the Democratic primary after he faced a tough intraparty challenger, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Larry R. Williams, an author and the Republican nominee, and Larry Dodge, the Libertarian nominee. Though his margin was reduced significantly from his initial election, Melcher still comfortably won re-election to his second and final term in the Senate. Democratic primary Candidates John Melcher, incumbent United States Senator Michael Bond, housing contractor Henry Hardy, retired railroad worker Campaign During his first term in the Senate, Melcher's relative conservatism for a Democrat prompted a primary challenger in Michael Bond, a housing contractor who campaigned on his opposition to nuclear war. Bond attacked Melcher for voting to increase spending on nuclear arms, and pledged to reduce military spending to $60 billion and to use the savings to reduce interest rates.https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/06/us/melcher-faces-difficult-test-in-montana-s-senate-primary.html Melcher Faces Difficult Test in Montana's Senate Primary June 6, 1982 July 2, 2014 The New York Times During the campaign, Bond came under fire from the state branches of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans for turning in his draft card in 1967 to protest the Vietnam War, who put out a statement, saying, "There is no place in the U.S. Senate for any draft dodger, draft card burner or draft protester of any kind."https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1290&dat=19941109&id=B1JUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t40DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6042,4278263 Vets ask draft-protesting candidate to call it quits May 31, 1982 July 2, 2014 The Spokesman-Review Results Democratic Party primary resultshttps://archive.org/stream/primaryofficial1976montrich#page/n0/mode/2up Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, June 1, 1976 Montana Secretary of State July 2, 2014 Jack Melcher (incumbent) Democratic Party (United States) 83,539 68.27 Mike Bond Democratic Party (United States) 33,565 27.43 122,369 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Larry R. Williams, 1978 Republican nominee for the United States Senate Willie Dee Morris, attorney Results Republican Primary results Larry Williams Republican Party (United States) 49,615 88.11 Willie Dee Morris Republican Party (United States) 6,696 11.89 56,311 100.00 General election Results United States Senate election in Montana, 1982https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1982election.pdf Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1982 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives July 2, 2014 Democratic Party (United States) John Melcher (incumbent) 174,861 54.46% -9.69% Republican Party (United States) Larry R. Williams 133,789 41.67% +5.83% Libertarian Party (United States) Larry Dodge 12,412 3.87% 41,072 12.79% -15.52% 321,062 Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) See also 1982 United States Senate elections References Montana 1982 Category:1982 Montana elections