1972 United States Senate election in Montana

1972 United States Senate election in Montana

← 1966 November 7, 1972 1978 →
 
Nominee Lee Metcalf Hank Hibbard
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 163,609 151,316
Percentage 51.95% 48.05%

County results
Metcalf:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Hibbard:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Lee Metcalf
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Lee Metcalf
Democratic

The 1972 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 7, 1972. Incumbent United States Senator Lee Metcalf, who was first elected to the Senate in 1960 and was re-elected in 1966, ran for re-election. After winning the Democratic primary, he moved on to the general election, where he faced Hank Hibbard, a State Senator and the Republican nominee. Following a close campaign, Metcalf managed to narrowly win re-election to his third term in the Senate over Hibbard. Montana was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.