2002 United States Senate election in Montana

The 2002 United States Senate election in Montana was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Max Baucus won re-election to a fifth term.^[1]

2002 United States Senate election in Montana

← 1996 November 5, 2002 2008 →

Nominee Max Baucus Mike Taylor Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 204,853 103,611 Percentage 62.74% 31.73%

County results Baucus:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Taylor:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election Max Baucus Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Max Baucus Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Max Baucus, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (incumbent)	66,713	100.00%
Total votes			66,713	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mike Taylor, Montana State Senator
• Brad Johnson, businessman
• John McDonald
• Melvin Hanson

Results

Republican primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Taylor	48,169	60.16%
	Republican	Brad Johnson	14,252	17.80%
	Republican	John McDonald	10,116	12.63%
	Republican	Melvin Hanson	7,536	9.41%
Total votes			80,073	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Max Baucus, incumbent U.S. Senator (Democratic)
• Stan Jones (Libertarian)
• Bob Kelleher, attorney (Green)

Withdrew

• Mike Taylor, State Senator (Republican) (withdrew October 10)

Campaign

The 2002 Montana elections got national attention when Baucus's opponent, state senator Mike Taylor, accused Baucus of having implied that Taylor was gay in a campaign ad. The ad was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, though designed by the Baucus campaign. The ad, which alleged that Taylor had embezzled funds from the cosmetology school he once owned, showed footage from the early 1980s of Taylor massaging another man's face while wearing a tight suit with an open shirt. Taylor dropped out of the race and Baucus won with 63 percent of the vote.^[3]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 16, 2002

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[4]	Safe D	November 4, 2002

Results

General election results^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Max Baucus (incumbent)	204,853	62.74%	+13.18%
	Republican	Mike Taylor	103,611	31.73%	−12.96%
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	10,420	3.19%	N/A
	Green	Bob Kelleher	7,653	2.34%	N/A
Total votes			326,537	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Beaverhead (largest city: Dillon)
• Broadwater (largest city: Townsend)
• Carter (largest city: Ekalaka)
• 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)
• Jefferson (largest city: Clancy)
• Judith Basin (largest city: Stanford)
• 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)
• Gallatin (largest city: Bozeman)
• Lake (largest city: Polson)
• Roosevelt (largest city: Wolf Point)
• Chouteau (largest municipality: Fort Benton)
• 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)

See also

• 2002 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. Gransbery, Jim (October 10, 2002). "Taylor quits Senate race in Montana". Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
4. "Senate Races". www.centerforpolitics.org. November 4, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
5. "2002 ELECTION STATISTICS". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved April 12, 2012.