Montana's not so red after all.

[rpannier]

This is a very interesting and enlightening article about politics in the Mountain States.
This article can be found at http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/11/12/opinions/a04111204_03.txt

According to the television networks on election night, a sea of red swept across the Deep South and flowed over the states of the Rocky Mountain West. That brightly colored presidential election night graphic made for easy viewing but it grossly over simplified the diversity of our political choices.
Montana's Big Sky turned bright "blue" on Nov. 2. We elected a Democrat governor, a state Senate with a clear Democratic majority, and our state House moved from a six-vote Republican majority to a tie of 49 to 49.
Democrats enjoyed a near sweep in the other state races as well, winning four out of five from attorney general to superintendent of public instruction, and now hold a clear advantage on both the important Public Service Commission and State Land Board.
These gains for Democrats are not limited to Montana, but are also found in other of the so-called "Red" states of the Rocky Mountains. In the past two years, western voters have chosen Democrats as governor in Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and now Montana. More than half the states of the Rocky Mountain West are now led by "blue" chief executives.