Robert "Bob" Kelleher of Butte, Montana

Butte, Montana

Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...

 was an attorney, and was the 2008 Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate for the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. A colorful figure and perennial candidate

Perennial candidate

A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...

, he served in elective office during the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention

Montana Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Montana is the primary legal document providing for the self-governance of the U.S. State of Montana. It establishes and defines the powers of the three branches of the government of Montana, and the rights of its citizens...

. He ran for numerous political offices on various party tickets, including those of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 and the Green Party

Green Party (United States)

The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

.

Kelleher espoused a mix of liberal and conservative political views. He was best known for advocating that the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 adopt a Parliamentary system

Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

 of government. He was a strong pro-life

Pro-life

Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

 advocate, and also favored single-payer health care

Single-payer health care

Single-payer health care is medical care funded from a single insurance pool, run by the state. Under a single-payer system, universal health care for an entire population can be financed from a pool to which many parties employees, employers, and the state have contributed...

. Starting in 1964, Kelleher ran for public office a total of 16 times, including a bid for the Presidency in 1976, where he made the ballot in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Georgia. He previously was a major party nominee, on the Democratic party ticket, for the U.S. House of Representatives in the former Montana District 2 ("Eastern District") in 1968.

In June, 2008, he won a surprise upset in a five-way primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 on the Republican ticket to be chosen as the nominee to face incumbent

Incumbent

The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...

 U.S. Senator Max Baucus

Max Baucus

Max Sieben Baucus is the senior United States Senator from Montana and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, as of 2010 he is the longest-serving Senator from Montana, and the fifth longest-serving U.S...

. It was his second run against Baucus, whom he also challenged in the 2002 Senate race

United States Senate elections, 2002

The 2002 United States Senate election featured a series of fiercely contested elections that resulted in a victory for the Republican Party, which gained two seats and thus a narrow majority from the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. Senators who were elected in 1996, known as Senate...

 on the Green party ticket (2.3%). He also ran for the U.S. Senate in 1988.

Kelleher died May 29, 2011, in Billings, MT.

External links

• The Daily Show program on 2002 Senate race which includes an interview with Kelleher