my-server
← Wiki

1974 Montana Senate election

The 1974 Montana Senate election took place on November 5, 1974, with the primary election held on June 4, 1974. Montana voters elected all 50 members of the Montana Senate. Following the landmark Reynolds v. Sims (1964) US Supreme Court decision, every state had to redraw state electoral districts to be approximately equal in population. Before Reynolds, the Montana Senate consisted of 50 members from a mix of single- and multi-member districts. After the ruling, the Montana Senate had to shift to equally populated electoral districts. In 1972, the voters of Montana ratified the current Constitution of Montana, establishing the structure of the state senate that is still used today: 50 senators each elected from a single-member district. To stagger state senate terms, senators elected in 1974 were split into two groups: half served just two years and faced re-election in 1976; the other half served full four-year terms and ran again in 1978. This setup made sure not all senate seats were up for election at once.

The election coincided with United States national elections and Montana state elections, including U.S. House and Montana House.

Following the previous election in 1972, Democrats held a 27-to-23-seat majority over Republicans. Democrats increased their majority in the legislature to 30 seats, while Republicans held 20—giving Democrats a net gain of three seats. The newly elected members served in the 44th Montana State Legislature, during which Democrat W. Gordon McOmber was re-elected President of the Montana Senate.

Retiring incumbents

<span style="color:Blue">Democrats</span>

  1. District 4: Gordon E. Bollinger
  2. District 4: Stanley Nees
  3. District 5: B. J. “Swede” Goodheart
  4. District 13: William H. Bertsche
  5. District 13: P. J. Gilfeather
  6. District 13: Mrs. John Nelson Hall
  7. District 13: John K. “Jack” McDonald
  8. District 14: David F. James
  9. District 16: George Siderius
  10. District 19: P. J. Keenan
  11. District 19: Luke McKeon
  12. District 20: James R. “Jimmy” Shea
  13. District 20: Leonard E. Vainio
  14. District 23: Arthur N. Jensen

<span style="color:crimson">Republicans</span>

  1. District 8: Archie M. Cochrane
  2. District 8: Herbert J. Klindt
  3. District 8: William R. McNamer
  4. District 9: Jim Moore
  5. District 11: J. W. “Brick” Breeden
  6. District 12: George T. Bennett
  7. District 12: James T. "Tom" Harrison Jr.
  8. District 18: G. W. “Por” Deschamps

Incumbent defeated in primary election

<span style="color:crimson">Republican</span>

  1. District 32: George Darrow

Incumbents defeated in general election

<span style="color:Blue">Democrats</span>

  1. District 5: Gordon McGowan
  2. District 7: Percy DeWolfe
  3. District 21: C. F. “Smokey” Sorensen
  4. District 28: A. A. Zody

<span style="color:crimson">Republicans</span>

  1. District 8: Fred O. Broeder
  2. District 24: Earl Moritz
  3. District 33: William R. “Bill” Lowe
  4. District 47: Harry T. Northey
  5. District 50: Fred G. Carl

Summary of results

Italics denote an open seat held by the incumbent party; bold text denotes a gain for a party.

Detailed results by district

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

District 9

District 10

District 11

District 12

District 13

District 14

District 15

District 16

District 17

District 18

District 19

District 20

District 21

District 22

District 23

District 24

District 25

District 26

District 27

District 28

District 29

District 30

District 31

District 32

District 33

District 34

District 35

District 36

District 37

District 38

District 39

District 40

District 41

District 42

District 43

District 44

District 45

District 46

District 47

District 48

District 49

District 50

See also

References