Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cesses. Like Wyoming, it was one of the first states to give women voting rights, and
Montanan Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress in
1916 as a Republican.
Often characterized as a swing state, Montana has had long-term shifts in party
control throughout its history. Five of its first six governors were Democrats, and
between 1952 and 1984 it elected only Democratic senators. Republicans held the
governorship 1953-1969 and again 1989-2005, with current Democratic governor
Steve Bullock elected in 2012. In the 2000 election, Judy Martz became the first wo-
man governor of Montana.
The swing-state nature of Montana continues today. Montana overwhelmingly
supported George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and Mitt Romney in 2012, but as of
2013 both U.S. senators were Democrats. A big change came in 2006 when Demo-
crat John Tester defeated longtime senator Conrad Burns, one of the crucial races
that allowed the party to regain control of the U.S. Senate. Montana's lone U.S. rep-
resentative, Steve Daines, is a Republican. Montanans last supported a Democratic
president in 1992 (Bill Clinton), although in 2008 the margin was just 2 percent in
favor of Republican John McCain.
As university towns like Bozeman and Missoula gain population and the state's
economy shifts toward tourism and the high-tech industry, Montana is becoming a
purple state. The lines between political parties are becoming blurred but seem to be
shifting slowly toward blue. But then again, as history has proved, it may only last
so long.
By most accounts, Montana is a “purple” state on the national scene—once primarily
red but slowly turning blue. Montanans have voted for the Republican presidential candid-
ate in every election since 1968, except when they chose Democrat Bill Clinton over Re-
publican George H. W. Bush in 1992. In 2008, Montana voters gave John McCain a narrow
margin—just over 2 percent—over Barack Obama. The 2012 election results from Montana
swayed much more heavily on the side of Mitt Romney over President Obama.
