Montanans had to wait years to elect leaders in new legislative districts after the 2020 recount. That’s because the state Constitution requires the biennial Legislature to have a say in the process.

“We’re the only state that’s delayed this long in seeing what the new districts will look like, so it’s going to be fascinating,” Dan Stusek said.

Stusek was one of the Republican appointees to the Montana Apportionment and Redistricting Commission. He says most of the new districts are more partisan leaning than in the past.

“I think we will see a reduction in competitive districts around Montana. “So when we talk about competitive districts, they are located at a few key stops rather than spread out all over the map, as they had been in previous districts, previous iterations of the map,” he said.

Republicans voted against the new map, saying it unduly supports Democrats. The commission chair cast a tie-breaking vote to approve the district map.

Republicans had a supermajority in the state House under the previous map, and Democrats attributed that consolidation of power to disproportionate districts.

Scott McNeil is director of the Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. He said a Republican supermajority is not representative of Montana.

“No one would agree that Montana is so unbalanced politically. So I think these districts are more reflective of the political dynamics of Montana. I think it requires candidates in many districts to represent many different interests,” McNeil said.

When the new maps were drawn, Democrats at the time said they would likely flip 10 seats from red to blue between the House and Senate. But that projection was made using data from years ago, and Montana’s population has grown at one of the fastest rates in the country.

McNeil says it’s unclear what impact the new residents will have. He says political polarization is the biggest obstacle for Montana Democrats.

“The problem is not necessarily the new residents. It’s about, you know, trying to convince voters to split their lists,” he said.

Both parties agree on where the most competitive legislative races are in this cycle.

Great Falls was once a Democratic stronghold, but Republicans lost some seats there in 2022. The newly drawn districts have led to competitive races for open seats in the heart of the city. Former county commissioner and Democrat Jane Weber faces Republican Hannah Trebas for House District 19. Republican Melissa Nikolakakos is running against Democratic former Clerk and Registrar Rina Fontana Moore for House District 20.

Both Trebas and Nikolakakos are married to current Republican state senators.

McNeil said Democrats are confident the candidates they recruited will make up some ground.

“In terms of quality of candidates, to achieve that superior performance you need candidates with the brand, the name identification, especially in a cycle with a massive Senate race that sucks up a lot of oxygen,” McNeil said.

Bozeman has slowly turned blue in recent decades, but there are still political variations in Gallatin County. House District 60 is politically competitive because it includes southern Bozeman, Big Sky and West Yellowstone. Democratic attorney Alannah Griffith faces Republican Jerry Johnson, former mayor of West Yellowstone.

A tight race is also underway for Senate District 21. It covers part of the Billings, Hardin and the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. The seat has long been held by Northern Cheyenne Republican Sen. Jason Small, but he is stepping down. Democratic Rep. Sharon Stewart-Peregoy faces Republican Gayle Lammers, a longtime Hardin business owner.

Stusek says he’s interested to see if Republicans can make inroads in urban districts, although it seems unlikely.

“Generally speaking, red rural districts are becoming redder. City districts, large areas of Bozeman, Missoula and even Helena, to a lesser degree, were buttoned up to become quite blue,” Stusek said.

Montana Free Press has published a complete guide to all legislative candidates run for office. Voters can also find information about the candidates at the Secretary of State Voter Guide.

Regardless of who wins, all lawmakers will gather in Helena shortly after the November election to receive guidance and elect new party leaders.

The Legislature meets on January 6.