WASHINGTON – Montana Sen. Max Baucus has defeated GOP challenger Bob Kelleher to win his sixth term in the U.S. Senate.
The call was based on an analysis of voter interviews, conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
Baucus has been in the Senate for 30 years and serves as chairman of the Senate’s top tax-writing committee. Kelleher is a perennial candidate who ran in previous races as both a Democratic and Green Party candidate.
The state GOP distanced itself from Kelleher, and the candidate raised little money. Baucus, meanwhile, raised millions for his re-election bid.
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, is running against Democrat John Driscoll.