The Nifty Fifty House Party - Part XXXIX: Montana

After crossing through some unexpected presidential swing territory in North Dakota, the Bullet Train to November now crosses westward to the Treasure State, a state filled with natural beauty...

MONTANA

The 41st state in the Union (November 8, 1889) and originally part of the Louisiana Purchase east of the continental divide, Montana contains the third lowest population density in the country, but makes up for its sparseness with its diverse topography. 77 ranges of the Rocky Mountains are situated here, along with three of Yellowstone National Park's five entrances, eight National Forests, and Glacier National Park, home to Triple Divide Peak, whose water flows into the Pacific, Arctic (Hudson Bay), and Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico) oceans. Forestry makes up a quarter of the state, with various varieties of trees such as douglas firs, spruces, birches, red cedars and cottonwoods dotting the landscape. Given the magnitude of Montana's landscape, tourism serves a major part of the state economy, along with agriculture (wheat, oats, honey, cherries, etc.), ranching, lumber, oil, and minerals (gold, silver).

Here in Big Sky Country, the landscape is dominated by ticket-splitters who have created long-term party control shifts: Democrats in the 1970s, Republicans in the 1994 Republican Revolution, and the 2004 election of Democrat Brian Schweitzer as Governor, followed by the 2006 election of U.S. Senator Jon Tester over incumbent Republican Conrad Burns. Montana was also one of the first states to give women the right to vote and the first to elect a woman to Congress (Jeannette Rankin, in 1916). Currently, Democrats control the State Senate while the Republicans run the show in the State House of Representatives. This year, while Montana's other U.S. Senator, Max Baucus is expected to win reelection and both John McCain and Barack Obama are battling for the state's three electoral votes, the race for the state's only U.S. House seat is easy to predict.

At-Large (S-Factor 9.8 GOP): Montana's congressman, Republican Denny Rehberg, will be facing former State House Speaker John Driscoll and Montana Libertarian Party Chair Mike Fellows. Both challengers are frequent candidates. Prediction: Solid GOP.

Next stop: Kansas.