Breaking news on this Monday afternoon, Montana will get a 2nd seat in the US House of Representatives following the 2020 Census.

Census results were revealed during a Monday afternoon press conference, which featured a state-by-state breakdown of the numbers. Based on those Census results, seven states are losing seats in Congress, while six states will add seats in Congress, including Montana.

States Losing Seats Based on 2020 Census Data

  • California
  • Illinois
  • Michigan
  • Ohio
  • West Virginia
  • Pennsylvania
  • New York

States Gaining Seats Based on 202 Census Data

  • Oregon
  • Montana
  • Colorado
  • Texas
  • North Carolina
  • Florida

With Montana recently crossing the 1 million mark in terms of population, political insiders anticipated that we would receive a second seat in Congress. While each state has two senators, Montana only currently has one seat in the House.

How will Montana's new seat in the House be filled?

That will now change come 2022. Dan Stusek, a Republican appointee on Montana's Districting and Apportionment Commission, tells us that the seat won't be filled until after the next election. How will the lines be drawn? Will we have an East-West seat like Montana had back in the 1990s when there were two members of the US House? The Census data won't be fully available until later in the year. Once that data is released, the commission will have 90 days to draw the lines for the two districts.

How will the lines be drawn? Will they be drawn fairly?

The answers to those questions depends on who sits on a very important commission known as the "Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission." Here's how it works. The Republicans get two people, and the Democrats get two people. If the four commissioners can't agree on a fifth member, then the tie goes to the Montana Supreme Court. The Montana Supreme Court is, of course, dominated by a Democrat majority.
Read More: Sheila Stearns Steps Down from Redistricting Role in Montana |

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