Dems disappointed with final Montana congressional districts

By IRIS SAMUELS
Associated Press/Report for America

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A new map dividing Montana into two congressional districts for the first time in three decades has been finalized. The decision Tuesday by the redistricting commission triggered disappointment from Democrats who hoped to craft a different western district that would give them a better chance of winning in an increasingly Republican-dominated state. Democrats managed to keep liberal college towns Missoula and Bozeman in the western district. But they lost the state capital of Helena to the solidly red eastern district. The final map was proposed by Republicans on the bipartisan redistricting commission and selected by nonpartisan chair Maylinn Smith after Republicans and Democrats could not come to an agreement.