CROW AGENCY, Mont. — It was an odd display. The Republican congressman dancing in a powwow with the Democrat who’s hoping to unseat him this fall.

Rep. Greg Gianforte narrowly won a closely-watched special election last year, earning negative headlines when he physically assaulted a reporter the night before.

Having won a six-way Democratic primary in June, former state Rep. Kathleen Williams is hoping to capitalize on frustration with the GOP-controlled Congress and dissatisfaction she’s heard about the congressman to defeat him in a year when the winds appear to be at Democrats’ backs.

But Montana’s not an easy place to do that. Despite electing Democrats statewide at the Senate and gubernatorial level, Montana hasn’t elected a Democrat to its at-large House seat since 1994.

It speaks to Montana’s peculiar political identity, but also to the challenges of running for an at-large seat in such a big, rural state, when the House contest has usually played second-fiddle to higher-profile statewide races.



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