The 2008 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator
Max Baucus won re-election to a sixth term in a landslide, winning more than 70% of the vote and carrying every county in the state, despite
RepublicanJohn McCain's narrow victory in the state in the
concurrent presidential election. Baucus later resigned his seat on February 6, 2014 after the Senate confirmed him to be U.S. Ambassador to China, having already announced his intention to retire at the end of term on April 23, 2013. As of 2024, this is the last time Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Montana.
All Republican candidates trailed Baucus badly in polls. It was revealed that Garnett Shay had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, preventing him from running an effective campaign.[2]
Bob Kelleher (R), attorney and perennial candidate
Campaign
Senator Baucus defeated Kelleher as a Democratic incumbent running in a year that was very successful for his party in general. The U.S. Senate race in Montana was somewhat unusual, in that it was perhaps the only race that year in which the Republican candidate was more liberal than the Democratic one. Kelleher, a perennial candidate and eccentric figure in Montana politics, took many positions that were highly unorthodox by GOP standards, such as favoring more liberal drug control policies, supporting universal healthcare and affirmative action, and favoring fair trade restrictions. He was, at the time, an 85-year-old attorney and
perennial candidate who has run for office on several different party tickets. Kelleher was
pro-life, advocated a
Parliamentary system of government for the United States, and supported nationalization of the American oil and gas industry and a
single-payer health care system.[3] He received no support from the Montana Republican Party.[4]
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