List of United States senators from Montana facts for kids

Montana's Current Senators

Jon Tester (D)

Steve Daines (R)

Montana became a state in the U.S. on November 8, 1889. Since then, it has elected people to represent it in the U.S. Senate. These representatives are called U.S. senators.

Currently, Montana is represented by two U.S. senators: Jon Tester, a Democrat who has served since 2007, and Steve Daines, a Republican who has served since 2015. This means Montana is one of only a few states that has one Republican and one Democratic senator at the same time. The person who served the longest as a senator for Montana was Max Baucus, from 1978 to 2014.

Understanding U.S. Senators and Their Terms

Senators are elected to serve six-year terms. To make sure the Senate always has experienced members, not all senators are elected at the same time. Instead, they are divided into three groups, called "classes."

What are Senator Classes?

Senators from Montana belong to two of these groups:

• Class 1 Senators: These senators are part of an election cycle that recently had elections in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018. The next election for a Class 1 senator from Montana will be in 2024.
• Class 2 Senators: These senators are part of a different election cycle, with recent elections in 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020. The next election for a Class 2 senator from Montana will be in 2026.

This system helps ensure that only about one-third of the Senate seats are up for election every two years.

Montana's Past Senators

Over the years, many different people have served as U.S. senators for Montana. They have worked in Washington D.C. to represent the people of Montana and help make laws for the country.

Class 1 Class 1 U.S. senators from Montana.						C	Class 2 Class 2 U.S. senators from Montana.
#	Senator	Party	Dates in office	Electoral history	T		T	Electoral history	Dates in office	Party	Senator	#
Vacant			Nov 8, 1889 – Jan 1, 1890	Montana elected its first senators two months after becoming a state.	1	51st	1	Montana elected its first senators two months after becoming a state.	Nov 8, 1889 – Jan 2, 1890	Vacant
1	Wilbur F. Sanders	Republican	Jan 1, 1890 – Mar 3, 1893	Elected in 1890. Did not win re-election.				Elected in 1890. Did not run again.	Jan 2, 1890 – Mar 3, 1895	Republican	Thomas C. Power	1
						52nd
Vacant			Mar 3, 1893 – Jan 16, 1895	The state legislature did not elect a senator.	2	53rd
2	Lee Mantle	Republican	Jan 16, 1895 – Mar 3, 1899	Elected to finish a vacant term. Did not win re-nomination.
						54th	2	Elected in 1895. Did not win re-election.	Mar 4, 1895 – Mar 3, 1901	Republican	Thomas H. Carter	2
		Silver Republican				55th
3	William Clark	Democratic	Mar 4, 1899 – May 15, 1900	Elected in 1899. Resigned due to questions about his election.	3	56th
Vacant			May 15, 1900 – Mar 7, 1901	Clark was appointed to continue his term but did not officially take the seat.
				57th		3	Elected in 1901. Did not run again.	Mar 4, 1901 – Mar 3, 1907	Democratic	William Clark	3
4	Paris Gibson	Democratic	Mar 7, 1901 – Mar 3, 1905									Elected to finish Clark's term. Did not run again.
				58th
5	Thomas H. Carter	Republican	Mar 4, 1905 – Mar 3, 1911	Elected in 1905. Did not win re-election.	4							59th
						60th	4	Elected in 1907. Did not win re-election.	Mar 4, 1907 – Mar 3, 1913	Republican	Joseph M. Dixon	4
						61st
6	Henry L. Myers	Democratic	Mar 4, 1911 – Mar 3, 1923	Elected in 1911.	5	62nd
						63rd	5	Elected in 1913.	Mar 4, 1913 – Mar 2, 1933	Democratic	Thomas J. Walsh	5
						64th
				Re-elected in 1916. Did not run again.	6	65th
						66th	6	Re-elected in 1918.
						67th
7	Burton K. Wheeler	Democratic	Mar 4, 1923 – Jan 3, 1947	Elected in 1922.	7	68th
						69th	7	Re-elected in 1924.
						70th
				Re-elected in 1928.	8	71st
						72nd	8	Re-elected in 1930. Passed away while in office.
									Mar 2, 1933 – Mar 13, 1933	Vacant
						73rd
								Appointed to continue Walsh's term. Did not win nomination to finish the term.	Mar 13, 1933 – Nov 6, 1934	Democratic	John E. Erickson	6
								Elected to finish Walsh's term.	Nov 7, 1934 – Jan 3, 1961	Democratic	James E. Murray	7
				Re-elected in 1934.	9	74th
						75th	9	Re-elected in 1936.
						76th
				Re-elected in 1940. Did not win re-nomination.	10	77th
						78th	10	Re-elected in 1942.
						79th
8	Zales Ecton	Republican	Jan 3, 1947 – Jan 3, 1953	Elected in 1946. Did not win re-election.	11	80th
						81st	11	Re-elected in 1948.
						82nd
9	Mike Mansfield	Democratic	Jan 3, 1953 – Jan 3, 1977	Elected in 1952.	12	83rd
						84th	12	Re-elected in 1954. Did not run again.
						85th
				Re-elected in 1958.	13	86th
						87th	13	Elected in 1960.	Jan 3, 1961 – Jan 12, 1978	Democratic	Lee Metcalf	8
						88th
				Re-elected in 1964.	14	89th
						90th	14	Re-elected in 1966.
						91st
				Re-elected in 1970. Did not run again.	15	92nd
						93rd	15	Re-elected in 1972. Passed away while in office.
						94th
10	John Melcher	Democratic	Jan 3, 1977 – Jan 3, 1989	Elected in 1976.	16	95th
									Jan 12, 1978 – Jan 22, 1978	Vacant
								Appointed to finish Metcalf's term. Did not win nomination for a full term. Resigned early.	Jan 22, 1978 – Dec 14, 1978	Democratic	Paul G. Hatfield	9
									Dec 14, 1978 – Dec 15, 1978	Vacant
								Appointed early to finish Metcalf's term, after being elected for the next term.	Dec 15, 1978 – Feb 6, 2014	Democratic	Max Baucus	10
						96th	16	Elected in 1978.
						97th
				Re-elected in 1982. Did not win re-election.	17	98th
						99th	17	Re-elected in 1984.
						100th
11	Conrad Burns	Republican	Jan 3, 1989 – Jan 3, 2007	Elected in 1988.	18	101st
						102nd	18	Re-elected in 1990.
						103rd
				Re-elected in 1994.	19	104th
						105th	19	Re-elected in 1996.
						106th
				Re-elected in 2000. Did not win re-election.	20	107th
						108th	20	Re-elected in 2002.
						109th
12	Jon Tester	Democratic	Jan 3, 2007 – present	Elected in 2006.	21	110th
						111th	21	Re-elected in 2008. Announced retirement, then resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China.
						112th
				Re-elected in 2012.	22	113th
									Feb 6, 2014 – Feb 9, 2014	Vacant
								Appointed to finish Baucus's term. Ran for election but later withdrew.	Feb 9, 2014 – Jan 3, 2015	Democratic	John Walsh	11
						114th	22	Elected in 2014.	Jan 3, 2015 – present	Republican	Steve Daines	12
						115th
				Re-elected in 2018.	23	116th
						117th	23	Re-elected in 2020.
						118th
To be decided in the 2024 election.					23	119th
						120th	24	To be decided in the 2026 election.
#	Senator	Party	Years in office	Electoral history	T e r m		T e r m	Electoral history	Years in office	Party	Senator	#
Class 1							Class 2

See also

• List of United States representatives from Montana
• United States congressional delegations from Montana
• Elections in Montana