The 2008 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Max Baucus won re-election to a sixth term by a very wide margin, despite Republican nominee Senator John McCain narrowly defeating Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama in the presidential race. As of the 2021, this is the last time a Democrat was elected to 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 Montana Senate race 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.[4] He received no support from the Montana Republican Party.[5]
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