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.
United States congressional delegations from Montana
There have been twenty-two senators elected from Montana, of whom fourteen have been Democrats and eight have been Republicans. Montana's current senators are Democratic Jon Tester, in office since 2007, and Steve Daines, in office since 2015. Tester was re-elected in 2012 with 48.58% of the vote, and Daines was elected in 2014 with 57.9% of the vote.