2014 United States Senate election in Montana

The 2014 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Democratic Senator Max Baucus, who had announced he would retire and not seek a seventh term, resigned in February 2014 in order to accept an appointment as United States Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama. Democrat John Walsh, the Lieutenant Governor of Montana, who was already running for Baucus' seat when Baucus was named to the ambassadorship, was appointed to replace Baucus by Governor Steve Bullock.

Walsh won the Democratic primary on June 3 and ran for a first full term in office, but withdrew from the race on August 7, 2014 due to allegations that he had plagiarized a term paper while attending the Army War College. Democrats selected Amanda Curtis, a state representative from Butte, to replace Walsh as the party's nominee at a convention in Helena on August 16. Steve Daines, the incumbent U.S. Representative from Montana's at-large congressional district, easily won the Republican nomination.

Daines defeated Curtis 57.9% to 40.0%, while Libertarian Roger Roots won 2.2%. Daines and Arkansas' Tom Cotton became just the 18th and 19th U.S. House freshmen to win U.S. Senate races over the last 100 years, and just the third and fourth over the last 40 years. He became the first Republican to win this Senate seat since 1907.

Declared

 * Dirk Adams, rancher, businessman and former business law professor
 * John Bohlinger, former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Montana
 * John Walsh, incumbent U.S. Senator, former Lieutenant Governor of Montana and former Adjutant General of the Montana National Guard

Declined

 * Max Baucus, former U.S. Senator
 * John Brueggeman, former Republican state senator
 * Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
 * Shane Colton, attorney and former commissioner of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
 * Amanda Curtis, state representative
 * Melinda Gopher, writer and candidate for Montana's at-large congressional district in 2010
 * Mike Halligan, executive director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and former state senator
 * Denise Juneau, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
 * Nancy Keenan, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America and former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
 * John Lewis, former state director for Senator Max Baucus (ran for the U.S. House)
 * Monica Lindeen, Montana State Auditor
 * Linda McCulloch, Secretary of State of Montana and former state representative
 * Mike McGrath, Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court and former Attorney General of Montana
 * Brian Morris, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana and former associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court
 * John Morrison, former Montana State Auditor and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006
 * Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily's List and former chief of staff to Senator Jon Tester
 * Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana
 * Kendall Van Dyk, state senator
 * Mike Wheat, Justice of the Montana Supreme Court (ran for re-election)
 * Carol Williams, former Majority Leader of the Montana Senate and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Montana in 2000
 * Pat Williams, former U.S. Representative
 * Whitney Williams, former director of operations for Hillary Clinton
 * Franke Wilmer, state representative
 * Jonathan Windy Boy, state senator

Results
[[File:2014 MT US Senate Democratic primary.svg|thumb|250px|Results by county {{legend|#6674de|Walsh}}

{{legend|#7996e2|50–60%}}

{{legend|#6674de|60–70%}}

{{legend|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend|#37c837|Bohlinger}}

{{legend|#5fd35f|50–60%}} ]]

Democratic convention
Because Walsh withdrew, a nominating convention was held to pick a new nominee prior to August 20. The state party called a convention for August 16, and voting delegates were members of the State Central Committee, specifically: "one chair and one vice chair from each existing county central committee; one state committeeman and one state committeewoman from each county central committee; all voting members of the State Party Executive Board; the president of each chartered organization of the Montana Democratic Party; Montana State House leadership, and Montana State Senate leaders, and all Democrats currently holding statewide or federal office."

Candidates
Momentary buzz was created by a movement to draft actor Jeff Bridges for the nomination, with over 1,000 people signing a petition on Change.org and a Twitter account, DudeSenator, being created online. Bridges, who lives part-time and owns property in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, Montana, declined the offer on the Howard Stern show, noting the disapproval of his wife. Other news outlets noted that he also was not registered to vote in Montana.

Potential

 * Dirk Adams, rancher, businessman and former business law professor
 * John Bohlinger, former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Montana
 * Amanda Curtis, state representative
 * Linda McCulloch, Secretary of State of Montana
 * Anna Whiting Sorrell, former director of the state Department of Health and Human Services and former state director of the Indian Health Services

Withdrew

 * Franke Wilmer, state representative
 * David Wanzenried, state senator

Declined

 * Jeff Bridges, actor and part-time Montana resident
 * Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
 * Denise Juneau, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
 * Nancy Keenan, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America and former Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction
 * Monica Lindeen, Montana State Auditor
 * Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily's List and former chief of staff to Senator Jon Tester
 * Brian Schweitzer, former Governor of Montana
 * Carol Williams, former Majority Leader of the Montana Senate and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Montana in 2000

Declared

 * Susan Cundiff
 * Steve Daines, U.S. Representative and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2008
 * Champ Edmunds, state representative

Withdrew

 * David Leaser, air traffic manager at Glacier Park International Airport
 * Corey Stapleton, former state senator and candidate for governor in 2012 (running for MT-AL)

Declined

 * Chuck Baldwin, Baptist pastor, radio host, Constitution Party nominee for vice president in 2004 and for President in 2008
 * John Bohlinger, former Lieutenant Governor of Montana (ran as a Democrat)
 * Tim Fox, Attorney General of Montana
 * Rick Hill, former U.S. Representative and nominee for governor in 2012
 * Krayton Kerns, state representative
 * Marc Racicot, former Governor of Montana
 * Denny Rehberg, former U.S. Representative, former lieutenant governor and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2012
 * Scott Reichner, state representative (ran for the state senate)
 * Matthew Rosendale, state senator (ran for the U.S. House)
 * Jon Sonju, state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012
 * Larry R. Williams, author, commodity trader and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1978 and 1982
 * Ryan Zinke, former state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2012 (ran for the U.S. House)

Declared

 * Roger Roots, nominee for Secretary of State of Montana in 2012

Declined

 * John Bohlinger, former Lieutenant Governor of Montana (ran as a Democrat)
 * Sam Rankin, real estate broker (did not qualify)

Debates

 * Complete video of debate, October 20, 2014

Polling

 * With Adams


 * with Baucus


 * With Bohlinger


 * With Juneau


 * With Keenan


 * With Lindeen


 * With Schweitzer


 * With Walsh

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
• Beaverhead (largest city: Dillon)

• Broadwater (largest city: Townsend)

• Carbon (largest city: Red Lodge)

• Carter (largest city: Ekalaka)

• Cascade (largest city: Great Falls)

• Custer (largest city: Miles City)

• Daniels (largest city: Scobey)

• Fallon (largest city: Baker)

• Fergus (largest city: Lewistown)

• Flathead (largest city: Kalispell)

• Garfield (largest city: Jordan)

• Golden Valley (largest city: Ryegate)

• Granite (largest city: Philipsburg)

• Hill (largest city: Havre)

• Jefferson (largest city: Clancy)

• Judith Basin (largest city: Stanford)

• Lewis and Clark (largest city: Helena)

• Liberty (largest city: Chester)

• Lincoln (largest city: Libby)

• Madison (largest city: Ennis)

• McCone (largest city: Circle)

• Meagher (largest city: White Sulphur Springs)

• Musselshell (largest city: Roundup)

• Park (largest city: Livingston)

• Petroleum (largest city: Winnett)

• Phillips (largest city: Malta)

• Pondera (largest city: Conrad)

• Powder River (largest city: Broadus)

• Powell (largest city: Deer Lodge)

• Prairie (largest city: Terry)

• Ravalli (largest city: Hamilton)

• Richland (largest city: Sidney)

• Rosebud (largest city: Colstrip)

• Roosevelt (largest city: Wolf Point)

• Dawson (largest city: Glendive)

• Mineral (largest city: Superior)

• Sheridan (largest city: Plentywood)

• Gallatin (largest city: Bozeman)

• Lake (largest city: Polson)

• Chouteau (largest municipality: Fort Benton)

• Yellowstone (largest municipality: Billings)

• Sanders (largest city: Thompson Falls)

• Stillwater (largest city: Columbus)

• Sweet Grass (largest city: Big Timber)

• Teton (largest city: Choteau)

• Toole (largest city: Shelby)

• Treasure (largest city: Hysham)

• Valley (largest city: Glasgow)

• Wheatland (largest city: Harlowton)

• Wibaux (largest city: Wibaux)