Biography:

Dennis Rehberg was born into a ranching family in southeastern Montana. A native of Billings, he obtained a degree in public administration from Washington State University in 1977 and began his political career that year as a legislative aide.

While attending college, he held myriad jobs, including gymnastics teacher, ditch digger and real estate salesman. Most of his adult life has been divided between ranching and politics.

In 1979, he joined the staff of Rep. Ron Marlenee, R-Mont. Ten years later, he became director of field offices for newly elected Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., after managing Burns' successful campaign.

He worked for Burns until 1991, when he was tapped by Gov. Stan Stephens to replace Lt. Gov. Allen Kolstad, who had resigned. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1992 when he was the running mate of Marc Racicot, currently chairman of the Republican National Committee. Rehberg chose not to run for a second term in 1996 and instead challenged Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

After losing that election, Rehberg returned to the family ranch near Billings and dropped out of public life, emerging again when he decided to run for the U.S. House in 2000. He narrowly defeated Nancy Keenan, Democratic state superintendent of schools. In 2002, Rehberg faced only token Democratic opposition from a relative unknown and won by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Rehberg and wife Janice have three children.

Past Campaigns:

Dennis Rehberg first ran for office in 1984 when he was elected to the state House. He was re-elected in 1986 and 1988.

He was chosen by Marc Racicot to be his running mate in the 1992 gubernatorial race. They won with 51.3 percent of the vote.

Rehberg chose to run for the U.S. Senate in 1996, rather than seek re-election with Racicot. He lost to Democratic incumbent Max Baucus, 49.5 percent to 44.7 percent in a four-way race.

Rehberg won his House seat in 2000 with 51.5 percent of the vote. In 2002, he was re-elected with 64 percent of the vote against a largely token Democratic challenger. In the 2004 election, he faces another relatively unknown opponent with no experience in a statewide race and little money.

He was campaign manager for Rep. Ron Marlenee, R-Mont., in 1986 and for Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., in 1988.

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