Shaylee Ragar

Across the country, parties are consolidating political power in states and squeezing out the moderate middle. In Montana, that squeeze is changing political representation and whose voice counts.

Montana state Rep.-elect Zooey Zephyr is the first openly trans woman elected to the state legislature. She and other lawmakers across the country are now faced with trying to curb anti-LGBTQ bills.

A pamphlet sent to voters includes information based on laws passed last year by Republicans. But a district court judge struck down the laws late last month.

More than 30 states have state supreme court elections this November. Those justices may be the final word on abortion laws in some places now that it's an issue for states to decide.

For the first time in decades, Montana will have more than one congressional district. After the news came, GOP lawmakers rushed a bill to set new rules for the state's districting commission.

Delaying session or meeting remotely aren't options that have necessarily appealed to Republican state lawmakers who, for the most part, aren't shy about gathering in large numbers in 2021.

Democratic governors in Montana have kept the Republican-led legislature from passing the most conservative agenda items. With a Republican at the helm in 2021, the GOP won't have the same roadblocks.

The races for governor in Missouri and North Carolina may tell us if the coronavirus can make or break a state leader. Meanwhile, political strategy in Montana has tempered talk of COVID-19.