 Sands was elected to the senate in 2014, succeeding the term-limited David Wanzenried (D–Missoula).In the 2014 general election, she prevailed over the Republican candidate, former Rep. Dick Haines, by just 33 votes (50.2% to 49.8%).She ran for re-election in 2018, defeating Republican candidate Chase Reynolds by 343 votes (51.6% to 48.4%).