# 1982 United States Senate election in Montana

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vte :
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.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* John Melcher, incumbent United States Senator
* Michael Bond, housing contractor
* Henry Hardy, retired railroad worker

### Campaign

During 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. 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."

### Results

Democratic Party primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jack Melcher (incumbent) | 83,539 | 68.27 |
| | Democratic | Mike Bond | 33,565 | 27.43 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 122,369 | 100.00 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Larry R. Williams, 1978 Republican nominee for the United States Senate
* Willie Dee Morris, attorney

### Results

Republican Primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Larry Williams | 49,615 | 88.11 |
| | Republican | Willie Dee Morris | 6,696 | 11.89 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 56,311 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Results

United States Senate election in Montana, 1982 :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 41,072 | 12.79% | −15.52% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 321,062 | | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Swing | | |