The 1982 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent United States Senator John Melcher, who was first elected to the Senate in 1976, opted to run for re-election. He won the Democratic primary after he faced a tough intraparty challenger, and advanced to the general election, where he faced Larry R. Williams, an author and the Republican nominee, and Larry Dodge, the Libertarian nominee. Though his margin was reduced significantly from his initial election, Melcher still comfortably won re-election to his second and final term in the Senate.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Melcher: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Williams: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Democratic primary
editCandidates
edit- John Melcher, incumbent United States Senator
- Michael Bond, housing contractor
- Henry Hardy, retired railroad worker
Campaign
editDuring his first term in the Senate, Melcher's relative conservatism for a Democrat prompted a primary challenger in Michael Bond, a housing contractor who campaigned on his opposition to nuclear war. Bond attacked Melcher for voting to increase spending on nuclear arms, and pledged to reduce military spending to $60 billion and to use the savings to reduce interest rates.[1] During the campaign, Bond came under fire from the state branches of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans for turning in his draft card in 1967 to protest the Vietnam War, who put out a statement, saying, "There is no place in the U.S. Senate for any draft dodger, draft card burner or draft protester of any kind."[2]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack Melcher (incumbent) | 83,539 | 68.27 | |
| Democratic | Mike Bond | 33,565 | 27.43 | |
| Total votes | 122,369 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
editCandidates
edit- Larry R. Williams, 1978 Republican nominee for the United States Senate
- Willie Dee Morris, attorney
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Larry Williams | 49,615 | 88.11 | |
| Republican | Willie Dee Morris | 6,696 | 11.89 | |
| Total votes | 56,311 | 100.00 | ||
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Melcher (incumbent) | 174,861 | 54.46% | −9.69% | |
| Republican | Larry R. Williams | 133,789 | 41.67% | +5.83% | |
| Libertarian | Larry Dodge | 12,412 | 3.87% | ||
| Majority | 41,072 | 12.79% | −15.52% | ||
| Turnout | 321,062 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Melcher Faces Difficult Test in Montana's Senate Primary". The New York Times. June 6, 1982. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ^ "Vets ask draft-protesting candidate to call it quits". The Spokesman-Review. May 31, 1982. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, June 1, 1976". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
- ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1982" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 2, 2014.