1978 United States Senate election in Montana
The 1978 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 7, 1978. Following the death of United States Senator Lee Metcalf on January 12, 1978, Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul G. Hatfield was appointed to serve for the remainder of Metcalf's term. Hatfield opted to run for re-election, but was overwhelmingly defeated in the Democratic primary by United States Congressman Max Baucus of the 1st congressional district. Baucus advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Larry R. Williams, an author and the Republican nominee. Baucus ended up defeating Williams by a solid margin to win his first term in the Senate, and, following Hatfield's resignation on December 12, 1978, he began serving his first term in the Senate.
Jean Baucus
Baucus authored four nonfiction books focusing on the history of Helena and Montana including ""Helena: Her Historic Homes, Vols. 1 and 2"", which were released during the late 1970s, and ""Gold in the Gulch"," published in 1981. Another work, ""Helena: An Illustrated History"," which she co-authored with editor Vivian Paladin, was first published in 1983 by the Montana Historical Society. Baucus also wrote ""Henry Sieben, 1846-1937: Legacy of Livestock and Land"", a biography of her grandfather. Her arts patronages included Holter Museum of Art in Helena.