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 ...

is represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

by one at-large

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

, among the 435 in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million constituents. It was also the second-largest by land area, after

Alaska's at-large congressional district Since becoming a U.S. state in 1959, Alaska has been entitled to one member in the United States House of Representatives, elected in the state's sole, at-large congressional district. By area, Alaska's congressional district is the largest con ...

, and the largest by land area in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. Currently, the district is represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Matt Rosendale Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American politician and businessman from Montana. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he is the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative fo ...

. It had previously been represented by 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 ...

, who did not seek re-election in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Instead, he opted to run for

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Montana National Guard, military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. Starting in the

2022 midterm elections The 2022 United States elections were held on November 8, 2022, with the exception of absentee balloting. During this U.S. midterm election, which occurred during the first term of incumbent president Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, all 4 ...

, per the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, Montana regained the congressional seat it lost after the 1990 census. Thus, the current at-large statewide district was dissolved, and the new districts were the 1st district in the west and the 2nd district in the east. Rosendale sought re-election in the 2nd district.

Politics

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

won Montana in the 2004 presidential election with 59.1% of the vote, beating

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

by 20 percentage points, which indicates that the district leans

. However, four years later

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

won the state by only 2.5% over

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, and there is a significant Democratic presence in the state: as of 2019 the Governor's office, Lieutenant Governor's office and one

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seat are held by Democrats, which suggested at the time that the district could be competitive in future elections. In 2016,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

won by over 20%, while

Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...

won Montana's single congressional seat by over 16%. Incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Bullock, however, was also reelected by 4%. The seat was left vacant when Zinke was appointed

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

. In a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

held on May 25, 2017, Republican

won with a margin of 6% and would be reelected by a margin of 5% in 2018.

Early at-large district

From statehood in 1889, until the creation of geographic districts in 1919, Montana was represented in the

by members elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

, that is, requiring voting by all the state population. From 1913 to 1919, there were ''two'' seats, still elected

; the top two finishers were awarded the seats. After that time, two representatives were elected from two geographic districts of roughly equal population, from the east and the west of the state. In the

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...

following the 1990 census, Montana lost one of its two seats. Its remaining member was again elected at-large.

Recent voting history

Election results from recent state wide races are shown below.

List of members representing the district

1889–1919: One, then two seats

The two at-large seats were moved to district representation in 1919, and remained until 1993, when Montana lost a seat due to

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

from the 1990 US Census, re-establishing the single seat at-large district.

1993–2023: One seat

Recent election results

The following are official results from the general elections.

Notes

References

2004 Election results for Montana At Large Congressional district
* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{USCongDistStateMT

At-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

At-large United States congressional districts Constituencies disestablished in 2023 2023 disestablishments in Montana