The 1996 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent United States Senator
Max Baucus, who was first elected in
1978 and was re-elected in
1984 and
1990, ran for re-election. He was unopposed in the
Democratic primary, and moved on to the general election, where he faced a stiff challenge in
Denny Rehberg, the
Lieutenant Governor of Montana and the
Republican nominee. Despite
Bob Dole's victory over
Bill Clinton and
Ross Perot in the state
that year in the presidential election, Baucus managed to narrowly win re-election over Rehberg to secure a fourth term in the Senate.