Montanans voted on Tuesday for the first time in more than 30 years in two US Congressional districts. The state gained the second House seat following the 2020 federal census, after 30 years as a single statewide district.
The votes are still being counted but the Democratic winner for Montana's 1st congressional district — which covers the western portion of the state — is Monica Tranel.
As of 9 p.m., Tranel had a solid lead of 61% over Cora Neumann with 32% and Tom Winter with 7%, and Neumann conceded the race a short time later.
Tranel is a Missoula lawyer who was the staff attorney for the Montana Public Service Commission and later for the Montana Consumer Counsel.
On the GOP side for the western district, Ryan Zinke and Al Olszewski are vying to come out on top; as of 10 p.m., each has about 40% of the vote. The other three GOP candidates are Mary Todd with 11%, Matt Jette with 7%, and Mitch Heuer with 2%.
In the eastern district, Matt Rosendale cruised to victory over fellow candidates in the GOP primary election for the state's newly-created second seat.
