Montana is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, 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, but the eighth-least populous state and the third-least densely populated state. Its capital is Helena, while the most populous city is Billings. The western half of the state contains numerous mountain ranges, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.
The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.
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 49% to 44% and Jon Tester 48% to 44%, respectively. He subsequently became a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.
A castle doctrine, also known as a castle law or a defense of habitation law, is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place as a place in which that person has protections and immunities permitting one, in certain circumstances, to use force to defend oneself against an intruder, free from legal prosecution for the consequences of the force used. The term is most commonly used in the United States, though many other countries invoke comparable principles in their laws.
Raymond Jon Tester is an American politician and farmer serving since 2007 as the senior United States senator from Montana. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the dean of Montana's congressional delegation, and has been the only congressional Democrat since 2015, and since 2021 the only Democrat holding statewide office in Montana. He served in the Montana Senate from 1999 to 2007, and as its president for his last two years in the chamber.
Steven David Daines is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator from Montana since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Montana's at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015.
Sally Kern is an American politician and former educator who served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 84th district from 2005 to 2017.
Stephen Clark Bullock is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 24th governor of Montana from 2013 to 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Edward Jerome Baza Calvo is an American politician who served as the 8th Governor of Guam from January 3, 2011 to January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Calvo was a five-term Senator within the Legislature of Guam. He became the Governor of Guam, having defeated Democrat Carl Gutierrez in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Calvo chose Senator Ray Tenorio as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Guam.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Montana may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Montana since 1997. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples, as same-sex marriage has been recognized since November 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities also provide protections in housing and public accommodations.
Gregory Richard Gianforte is an American businessman, politician, and software engineer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Montana took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from Montana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Bill Harris is a Republican member of the Montana House of Representatives. As of 2017 he represents District 37.
Austin Miles Knudsen is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Montana. He formerly served as the Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. During his time in the Montana House from 2010 to 2018, he represented House District 36, which includes the Culbertson area.
Matthew Martin Rosendale Sr. is an American politician and former real estate developer representing Montana's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A Member of the Republican Party, Rosendale served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and in the Montana Senate from 2013 to 2017. From 2015 to 2017, he served as Senate majority leader. Rosendale was elected Montana state auditor in 2016 and held that position from 2017 to 2020. Rosendale ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 and for the U.S. Senate in 2018. He was elected to represent Montana's at-large congressional district in 2020. After Montana regained its second House seat in the 2020 census, Rosendale was elected to represent the new 2nd congressional district in 2022.
Anthony Kern is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing District 27 since 2023. He previously represented District 20 in the State House of Representatives from January 5, 2015, to January 11, 2021.
Tim Salazar is an American politician and former US Army Officer. He is the Wyoming State Senator for the 26th district. He was sworn into the Wyoming Senate on January 12, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Salazar previously served as a Representative from the 34th district in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2017 to 2021. He currently sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senate Education Committee and the WY Department of Homeland Security, State Emergency Response Commission (SERC).
Douglas Scot Kerns II, also known as Scot Kerns, is a Lutheran pastor and Republican politician who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He represented House District 23 of the Montana State Legislature and a served as a candidate minister in Great Falls, Montana.
Braxton Mitchell is an American politician and businessman who serves as the Republican Majority Whip of the Montana House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. He has represented Montana’s 3rd district since 2021, and at the time, became one of the youngest elected officials in the country.
Zooey Simone Zephyr is an American politician and university administrator who represents Missoula in the 100th district in the Montana House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected in the 2022 election, making her the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Montana Legislature. She was sworn in as a representative on January 2, 2023. In April 2023, Zephyr was permitted to speak and later banned from the House after speaking out against multiple anti-LGBT bills and criticizing their supporters. In November 2024 Zephyr won re-election to the House.
