Montana Republicans dominated the 2024 election. How did Democrats gain power at the statehouse?
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Following Montana Republicans’ overwhelming dominance in the fall election, a group of GOP lawmakers kicked off the 2025 Legislature with an unexpected move: ceding power to Democrats.
The minority took full advantage, remaking legislative committees and banding with a handful of moderate Republicans to thwart GOP leaders’ efforts to make Montana’s judicial system more partisan. Similar alliances bolstered Medicaid expansion, raised teacher pay and passed a state budget increase that includes investments in health care.
The partnership seems to defy divisions between America’s two major political parties that have played out in Washington, D.C., and in many statehouses. But it may prove fleeting if elections in the Big Sky State continue mirroring national trends that have hardened party lines. Montana’s conservative and moderate Republicans alike express allegiance to President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers meet for just a few months every two years inside Montana’s Capitol, perched on a hill overlooking Helena, a city of about 35,000 people founded during an 1864 gold rush. It remains a true citizen legislature, opening the playing field for compromise, said political analyst Jeremy Johnson.
https://ktar.com/national-news/montana-republicans-dominated-the-2024-election-how-did-democrats-gain-power-at-the-statehouse/5699766/