Jeff Essmann

The commission responsible for drawing Montana’s new legislative districts is close to finishing its once-a-decade duty after advancing a map on Wednesday.

The two Republicans and two Democrats on the districting and apportionment commission each presented their ideas for what the 100 state House of Representative and 50 state Senate districts should look like based on new population data.

Hardline conservatives and moderate Republicans continued their longstanding clash at the Montana GOP convention in Billings over the weekend. Yellowstone Public Radio’s Ellis Juhlin and Montana Public Radio’s Shaylee Ragar break down who holds power and what the GOP’s priorities are ahead of the 2023 legislative session.

After one amendment, state officials Tuesday adopted a final map that divides Montana into two congressional districts.The map creates east-west districts with Lewis and Clark County in the east. It splits Pondera County in north central Montana.

Montana’s bipartisan redistricting commission has narrowed down the possibilities for congressional maps that would create two U.S. House seats in the state for the first time in 30 years.

Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission spent much of Tuesday afternoon debating whether to consider political competition between candidates when drawing the state’s new political districts.

The Republicans and Democrats on Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission are expected to present conflicting plans for drawing the state’s…

The commission in charge of redrawing Montana’s political boundaries this week met for the first time since federal census data revealed the state would regain its second U.S. House seat. Though it’s early in the process, commissioners have different approaches for determining what the state’s congressional districts should look like. Kevin Trevellyan with Yellowstone Public Radio has been following the commission. He shares his reporting with Nicky Ouellet.

Montana has the seventh lowest 2020 Census return rate among all states after one fifth of its households weren’t initially mailed invitations to...

Montana now has three Republicans campaigning for governor, with one candidate dropping out of the race to run for the U.S. House. Party leaders met in…