Montana Elects First House Democrat, Nonbinary Leader

Democrat Sam Forstag was elected to the U.S. House, becoming Montana’s first Democratic representative there in more than 30 years. In the state Legislature, House Democrats selected Rep. SJ Howell, Montana’s first nonbinary legislator, as minority leader, making Howell the first transgender or nonbinary state legislative party leader in the country; Rep. Zooey Zephyr was elected a minority whip. Republicans retained control of the Legislature, with a 56–44 House majority and a 30–20 Senate majority, and chose Rep. Katie Zolnikov as House speaker, the first woman to hold the post.