Brown spent four years in the State House (1970–1974) and 23 in the Senate (1975–1997), serving as president from 1995-96.
[3] His political mentors include Jean Turnage, who spent 20 years in the Senate and subsequently 15 as chief justice of the Supreme Court before retiring in 1991.
In 2000, Brown ran for secretary of state and won by a 7 percent margin.
In 2004, Brown entered the 2004 Montana gubernatorial election against Democrat Brian Schweitzer.
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he endorsed Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.