The 2002 United States House of Representatives election in Montana was held on November 5, 2002 to determine who will represent the state of Montana in the United States House of Representatives. Montana has one at-large district in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census, due to its low population. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

2002 United States House of Representatives election in Montana

← 2000 November 5, 2002 2004 →

Nominee Denny Rehberg Steve Kelly Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 214,100 108,233 Percentage 64.62% 32.67%

County results Rehberg:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Kelly:      50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Denny Rehberg Republican Elected U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg Republican

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Republican Denny Rehberg, the former lieutenant governor of Montana, sought re-election to a second term in the United States House of Representatives, winning the party's renomination unopposed in the June 4 primary. Two Democrats — rancher Robert Candee and small business owner Steve Kelly — sought their party's nomination; Kelly ultimately prevailed with 74 percent of the vote in the primary. In the general election, Rehberg won with almost 65 percent of the vote to Kelly's 33 percent, while Libertarian Mike Fellows received nearly 3 percent.

Kelly, the Democratic nominee, had previously run for office as both an independent and a Republican, in 1994 running as an independent candidate for the US House and earning 9 percent of the vote, and in 1998 running as a candidate in the Republican primary for Gallatin County Commissioner. Kelly observed that his independent candidacy eight years earlier had displeased some Democrats, who felt that he pulled votes from the Democratic nominee; however, Kelly observed that the Democrat still won the race, so he was not a spoiler.^[1]