PolitiFinder

1988 Montana U.S. Senate Election

Montana · 2 candidates · See every 1988 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1988 Montana U.S. Senate Election?

Conrad R. Burns won the 1988 Montana U.S. Senate Election. Conrad R. Burns received 189,445 popular votes (51.87%). The main challenger was John Melcher (48.13%).

See the full head-to-head between Burns and Melcher

Burns +3.7 pts · won by 13,636 votes
Conrad R. BurnsRepublicanWINNER51.87%
189,445 votes
John MelcherDemocratic48.13%
175,809 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.