| State: | Montana |
| District Number: | AL |
| Obsolete: | yes |
| Created: | 1889 1990 |
| Eliminated: | 1918 2020 |
| Years: | 1889–1919 1993–2023 |
From 1993 to 2023, Montana was represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million constituents.[1] It was also the second-largest by land area, after Alaska's at-large congressional district, and the largest by land area in the contiguous United States.
The district was last represented by Republican Matt Rosendale. It had previously been represented by Republican Greg Gianforte, who did not seek re-election in 2020. Instead, he opted to run for Governor of Montana.
Starting in the 2022 midterm elections, per the 2020 United States census, Montana regained the congressional seat that 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, [2] restoring a configuration that had existed from 1919 to 1993. Rosendale sought re-election in the 2nd district and was elected.
President George W. Bush won Montana in the 2004 presidential election with 59.1% of the vote, beating John Kerry by 20 percentage points, which indicates that the district leans Republican. However, four years later John McCain won the state by only 2.5% over Barack Obama, and there is a significant Democratic presence in the state: as of 2021 one U.S. Senate seat is held by a Democrat, which suggested at the time that the district could be competitive in future elections. In 2016, Donald Trump won by over 20%, while Ryan Zinke 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. In a special election held on May 25, 2017, Republican Greg Gianforte won with a margin of 6% and would be reelected by a margin of 5% in 2018.[3]
From statehood in 1889, until the creation of geographic districts in 1919, Montana was represented in the United States House of Representatives by members elected at-large, that is, requiring voting by all the state population. From 1913 to 1919, there were two seats, still elected at-large; 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 following the 1990 census, Montana lost one of its two seats. Its remaining member was again elected at-large.
Election results from recent state wide races are shown below.
| 2000 | Martz 51-47% | ||
| 2004 | Schweitzer 50-46% | ||
| 2008 | Schweitzer 66-33% | ||
| 2012 | Bullock 49-47% | ||
| 2016 | Bullock 50-46% | ||
| 2020 | Gianforte 54-42% |
| 2000 | Burns 51-47% | ||
| 2002 | Baucus 63-32% | ||
| 2006 | Tester 49-48% | ||
| 2008 | Baucus 73-27% | ||
| 2012 | Tester 49-45% | ||
| 2014 | Daines 58-40% | ||
| 2018 | Tester 50-47% | ||
| 2020 | Daines 55-45% |
| Year | Presidential | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Bush 58–33% | |
| 2004 | Bush 59–38% | |
| 2008 | McCain 50–47% | |
| 2012 | Romney 55–41% | |
| 2016 | Trump 56–35% | |
| 2020 | Trump 57–41% |
See main article: article and List of United States representatives from Montana.
| Years | Cong ress | Seat A | Seat B | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Electoral history | Member | Party | Electoral history | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1889 – November 8, 1889 | Seat created upon statehood | A second seat was added in 1913. | |||||||
| nowrap | November 8, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | align=left | Thomas H. Carter | Republican | Elected in 1889. Lost re-election. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | align=left | William W. Dixon | Democratic | Elected in 1890. Lost re-election. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897 | Charles S. Hartman | Republican | Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Retired. | ||||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | Silver Republican | ||||||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1901 | align=left | Albert J. Campbell | Democratic | Elected in 1898. Retired. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1901 – March 3, 1903 | align=left | Caldwell Edwards | Populist | Elected in 1900. Retired. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1907 | align=left | Joseph M. Dixon | Republican | Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1913 | align=left | Charles N. Pray | Republican | Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Lost re-election. | |||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | John M. Evans | Democratic | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Redistricted to the . | align=left | Tom Stout | Democratic | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Retired. | ||
| nowrap | March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919 | align=left | Jeannette Rankin[4] | Republican | Elected in 1916. Redistricted to the and retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||||
The two at-large seats were moved to district representation in 1919, and remained until 1993, when Montana lost a seat due to redistricting from the 1990 U.S. census, re-establishing the single seat at-large district.
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District re-established January 3, 1993 | |||||||
| align=left | Pat Williams | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired. | ||
| align=left | Rick Hill | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 | Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Retired. | ||
| align=left | Denny Rehberg | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2013 | Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | ||
| align=left | Steve Daines | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015 | Elected in 2012. Retired to run for the U.S. senator. | ||
| align=left | Ryan Zinke | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2015 – March 1, 2017 | Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. | ||
| align=center nowrap colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | March 1, 2017 – June 21, 2017 | ||||
| align=left | Greg Gianforte | Republican | nowrap | June 21, 2017 – January 3, 2021 | Elected to finish Zinke's term. Re-elected in 2018. Retired to run for Governor of Montana. | ||
| align=left | Matt Rosendale | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | Elected in 2020. Redistricted to the . | ||
| District eliminated January 3, 2023 | |||||||
The following are official results from the general elections.[5]
65th Congress
. 1917 . Washington DC . Government Printing Office . Montana . 2027/mdp.39015022758265?urlappend=%3Bseq=84 . http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015022758265?urlappend=%3Bseq=84 .