Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2021 is chaired by

Robyn Driscoll Robyn Driscoll was a Democratic Party member of the Montana State Senate. She represented District 26 and then District 25. She was first elected to the Senate in 2012. Robyn Driscoll was formerly a member of the Montana House of Representatives ...

. The National Committeeman is Jorge Quintana, and the National Committeewoman is Jean Lemire Dahlman.

History

The party typically meets in Butte.

Recent years

In 2017 during a special election for a Congressional seat, state party officials "grew frustrated" according to the ''New York Times'' when national Democratic Party officials

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

and

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

were implored by Democratic Senator

Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressio ...

to with-hold from spending national party money on his rival

Rob Quist Robert Ernest Quist (born January 5, 1948) is an American singer, instrumentalist (playing guitar and banjo), songwriter, and politician. Originally a founding member of the Mission Mountain Wood Band, his songs have also been recorded by artist ...

, the Democratic nominee in Montana, without success. Quist ultimately lost the seat to Republican

Greg Gianforte Gregory Richard Gianforte (born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representa ...

. In January 2020, Sandi Luckey, previously the state party treasurer for the Democratic party, was elected executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. Robyn Driscoll was party chair at that time. The state party announced in May 2020 that it was creating a Steering Committee for the Blue Bench Program, and that it would have three of those positions dedicated permanently for Native American leaders. The Blue Bench Program recruited and developed local candidates to run for office. At that time, the state party's voting delegates largely consisted of legislative leadership, Democrats in statewide elected office, and leaders in Democratic Central Committees for state countries. The party had no delegate votes assigned specifically for Native Americans, and three voting delegates at state conventions who were Native Americans. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

reported in June 2020 that the state party voted to establish tribal committees to represent the Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Fort Peck, Fort Belknap, Rocky Boy's, Blackfeet and Flathead reservations and the Little Shell-Chippewa tribe, and the committees would operate "like county central committees, whose delegates vote on the party's platform, rules and officers and nominate candidates for special elections." Luckey, still the state party executive director, said the move made the Montana Democratic Party the first US state country to formally create a formal role based on population for Native Americans. In February 2022, Democratic senator Jon Tester criticized the larger state party for not doing more to appeal to and engage with "Middle America," clarifying he meant the area between the Appalachians the Rocky Mountains. In June 2022 NPR reported that Montana had two U.S. House districts for the first time since 1992, and while the Montana Democratic Party had three candidates in that month's primary, it hadn't had representation in the U.S. House since 1994. In August 2022, Montana Democrats meeting in Butte announced a new platform, largely statements of principal, such as supporting abortion rights and declaring a "state of climate emergency." New policy objectives included restoring the Judicial Nominating Commission, recently eliminated by Republicans, and establishing a panel to examine atrocities at the state's former boarding schools for Native Americans. The state party's executive director remained Sheila Hogan, at the only Democrat in statewide or federal office at the time was Senator

Elected officers

Current elected officials

The Montana Democratic Party currently hold none of the six statewide offices and a minority of the seats in both the

Montana Senate The Montana Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Composition of the Senate :''67th Legislature – 2021–202 ...

and

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

. They hold one of the state's U.S. Senate seats.

Member of Congress

U.S. Senate

File:JonTester.jpg, Senior U.S. Senator

Statewide offices

* None

Legislative leaders

19 Members of the Montana Senate

33 Members of the Montana House of Representatives

Election results

Presidential

Gubernatorial

References

External links

Montana Democratic Party
{{U.S. Democratic Party state parties Democratic Party (United States) by state