Montana Regains US House Seat

The 2020 U.S. Census showed enough of a population increase in Montana that the state has regained a second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The state had lost the seat in 1993, also due to Census tallies.

Montana is one of five states each gaining a seat in Congress. The other four are Colorado, Florida, Oregon and North Carolina. Texas will pick up two House seats. Meanwhile, on the other end of the numbers, seven states are losing Representatives. Each will lose one seat. They are California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each member represents an average of 761,169, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bureau's report was presented to President Joe Biden today and will be used for apportioning the seats nationwide. The resident populations include overseas military and federal civilian employees and their dependents who have homes in their respective states. The President will send the numbers to Congress and the changes in representation will be effective for the 118th Congress in 2023, according to the Census Bureau.

Montana's current congressmen responded to the news.
Representative Matt Rosendale said, "Even though I will no longer be the lone representative from the state of Montana, this is a great opportunity for the state. Having another member in our delegation makes us that much more powerful and it means we will have representation on more committees that are important to our state."

Senator Jon Tester's statement: "This is great news for all Montanans, who will once again have two voices representing the Last Best Place in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now we must make sure that the nonpartisan Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission is allowed to do its job, drawing districts fairly and objectively without interference from politicians."

And Senator Steve Daines: "Montana's had the least representation in the U.S. House of Representatives over the last three decades, so I'm glad to see this news. The next step is to ensure the two new congressional districts are fairly drawn and that all Montanans are fairly represented, communities remain intact and efforts to manufacture a gerrymandered district are not accepted. Using commonsense, objective criteria that limits divisions of Montana communities must be prioritized."