Will Montana Pick Up a Second Seat?

Could Montana be in line for a second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives?

Population estimates were released this week and the numbers suggest that Montana could very well get that second seat. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2020 Population Estimate, Montana’s population is 1,080,577. We won't know until late January if that's enough for a second seat, but it is encouraging.

“I’d say things are trending in the right direction,” said Dan Stusek, one of two Republican members of the Montana Districting and Apportionment Committee.

America’s 435 House seats are divided up according to population acquired in the once per decade census. In 1992, Montana had two house seats and since 1997, Republicans have controlled the state's only House seat. The last time Montana was divided into two districts, Democrats held the seat in the western part of the state.

It is a very complicated process and involves 17 other states with some losing seats and others gaining. In the end, there still needs to be a total of 435 U.S. Representatives. If Montana is awarded a second seat, it will be the first time any state regained a House seat after preciously being reduced to at-large status.