the Montana Senate at the time. Morrison initially polled ahead of incumbent Republican Conrad Burns, and was leading in the primary race, but it narrowed to a "deadlock" a week prior to the election. Morrison was beaten in the Democratic primary by Tester, who then defeated Burns in November. During the Democratic Primary, it was revealed that Morrison had an extramarital affair in 1998. Morrison and his wife remained together despite the affair. According to the Missoula Independent, the woman involved later married the principal of companies investigated by the state auditors office while Morrison was there. Former staffers reported to the Independent that they repeatedly advised Morrison to stay out of the case entirely to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, but they felt that he had not. Morrison's relationship reportedly did not affect the outcome of the probe, and the individual investigated was convicted of fraud. Morrison authorized hiring outside attorney (and later Montana Supreme Court Justice) Beth Baker who said she was given broad leeway in handling the case and that Morrison told her “he wanted a completely independent review.” Writing Morrison and his wife are co-authors of a Montana political history book: Mavericks: The Lives and Battles of Montana's Political Heroes, which has been listed as one of “Twelve Important Works of Historical Non-Fiction About Montana.” Morrison also authored or co-authored other published works on topics ranging from health insurance to climate change. References 1961 births Living people Montana Democrats Whitman College alumni