John David Melcher (September 6, 1924 – April 12, 2018) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Montana for four terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States senator for two terms from 1977 until 1989.

Early life

Melcher was born in Sioux City, Iowa; his paternal grandparents were from Germany. He attended the University of Minnesota before joining the military. He served in the United States Army during World War II, and participated in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy with the 76th Infantry Division in Europe during World War II.

Melcher married Ruth Klein in 1945. They had six children.

U.S. Senate

In 1976, he was elected to the United States Senate to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent Mike Mansfield.

Melcher was re-elected in 1982 against Republican Larry R. Williams. Melcher had been targeted by National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) as potentially vulnerable, and he was subjected to attack ads depicting him as "too liberal for Montana". Melcher's response became a classic of campaign advertising, featuring a shot of an "out-of-stater" carrying a briefcase full of money, followed by a conversation among several cows deploring their intervention in the race.

After Congress

His campaign for re-election in 1988 was unsuccessful; he was defeated by Republican Conrad Burns.

Melcher was a candidate again for the same seat in the 1994 Senate election for an attempted rematch with Burns, but lost to Jack Mudd in the primary, who in turn was also defeated by Burns by 62% to 38%.

Political positions and legislative contributions

Melcher had generally liberal views on environmental issues, but was pro-life and supported prayer in public schools. This legislation was praised by Jane Goodall, and in 1987 he was the presenter to her of the Schweitzer Medal of the Animal Welfare Institute.

Later life

After serving in the Senate, Melcher worked as a lobbyist for multiple organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Melcher died on April 12, 2018, in Missoula, Montana, at the age of 93.

References

  • John Melcher Interviews Oral History Project (University of Montana Archives)

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