Montana is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area, the eighth-least populous state, and the third-least densely populated state. Its state capital is Helena. The western half of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.
Maxwell Sieben Baucus is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the longest-serving U.S. senator in Montana history. President Barack Obama appointed Baucus to replace Gary Locke as the 11th U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, a position he held from 2014 until 2017.
Marc Racicot is an American attorney, lobbyist, politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 21st Governor of Montana from 1993 until 2001. After leaving office, Racicot worked as a lobbyist for the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani. His notable clients included Enron, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the Recording Industry Association of America.
Dennis Ray Rehberg is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1991 to 1997 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2001 to 2013. Rehberg was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 1996 and 2012, losing to Democratic incumbents Max Baucus 50% to 45% and Jon Tester 49% to 45%, respectively. He subsequently became a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.
Forrest Howard Anderson was an American politician, attorney, and judge who served as the 17th Governor of Montana from 1969 to 1973. Prior to this, he served as the Attorney General of Montana from 1957 to 1969 and as a member of the Montana Supreme Court.
Joseph Boyd Poindexter was the eighth Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1934 to 1942.
Brian David Schweitzer is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democratic Governors Association. He also served as President of the Council of State Governments.
The 2006 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Governor Jim Risch succeeded Dirk Kempthorne, who resigned May 26 to become Secretary of the Interior. Risch served as governor until the end of the term, but had committed to a reelection campaign for Lieutenant Governor before Kempthorne's appointment and subsequent resignation.
Franklin Murphy was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 31st governor of New Jersey, from 1902–1905. He was the founder of the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark, New Jersey.
John Edward Erickson was an American politician of the Democratic Party from Montana. He served as the eighth Governor of Montana and as a United States senator.
Melony Ghee Griffith is an American politician who represents district 25 in the Maryland Senate.
Michael R. Cooney is an American politician who served as the 36th lieutenant governor of Montana from 2016 to 2021. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives (1977–1981), as the secretary of state of Montana (1989–2001), in the Montana Senate (2003–2011), as the president of the Montana Senate (2007–2009) and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Montana in 2000. Cooney was the Democratic nominee for governor of Montana in the 2020 election, losing to Republican U.S. Representative Greg Gianforte.
Hutchins Franklin Inge was an American physician and Democratic Party politician. He was the first African American to serve in the New Jersey Senate.
Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail (1903–1981) (Crow-Sioux) was the first Crow and one of the first Native Americans to graduate as a registered nurse in the United States. Working for the Indian Health Service, she brought modern health care to her people and traveled throughout the U.S. to assess care given to indigenous people for the Public Health Service. Yellowtail served on many national health organizations and received many honors for her work, including the President's Award for Outstanding Nursing Health Care in 1962 and being honored in 1978 as the "Grandmother of American Indian Nurses" by the American Indian Nurses Association. She was inducted into the Montana Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2002 became the first Native American inductee of the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Montana on March 14, 2020. As of June 4, 2021, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (MDPHHS) has reported 112,260 positive cases and 1,632 deaths in the state.
Raphael "Raph" Jeffrey Carlisle Graybill is an American attorney who has served as chief legal counsel to Steve Bullock, the Governor of Montana, since 2017. Graybill was a candidate for attorney general of Montana in the 2020 general election.
Jane Gillette is an American dentist and politician serving as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 64th district. Elected in November 2020, she assumed office on January 4, 2021.
Connie Keogh is an American politician and educator serving as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 91st district. Elected in November 2018, she assumed office on January 7, 2019.
As of 2022, Montana ranked 22nd out of 50 American states in terms of percentage of state legislators who are women. Within the Montana State Legislature, 32.7 percent of all members were women in 2022. From statehood in 1889 to 2021, the state of Montana had only one female governor, Judy Martz. Although the first woman to be elected to the United States Congress was from Montana in 1916, the state had not elected another woman to Congress as of 2021.
