Walsh, John (1960-…), served as a United States senator from February 2014 to January 2015. Walsh, a Democrat , represented Montana . He was appointed to serve out the term of Senator Max Baucus , who resigned. Prior to Walsh’s appointment to the Senate , he had served as Montana’s lieutenant governor .
John Edward Walsh was born in Butte, Montana, on Nov. 3, 1960. After graduating high school in 1979, he joined the Montana National Guard. Walsh studied at Carroll College in Helena, Montana, and graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1990. He received a master’s degree from the U.S. Army War College in 2007. Walsh served in the National Guard through 2012, achieving the rank of brigadier general. From 2008 to 2012, he held the office of adjutant general for the state of Montana, making him commander of the Montana National Guard.
Walsh was elected lieutenant governor of Montana in 2012. In 2013, he began campaigning for a U.S. Senate election scheduled for November 2014. He sought the seat held by long-time Senator Max Baucus, who had announced plans to retire when his term ended in January 2015. In early 2014, however, Baucus stepped down from his Senate seat after being appointed U.S. ambassador to China. Montana Governor Steve Bullock then named Walsh to finish Baucus’s term.
In August 2014, Walsh announced he would not seek election for a full Senate term in November. Walsh made the decision after reports alleged that he had plagiarized—that is, included without attribution—significant passages of a thesis for the U.S. Army War College. The War College revoked Walsh’s master’s degree after the plagiarism charges were revealed.
