Montana Could Regain House Seat 30 Years After Losing It
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Nearly 30 years after losing its second seat in the U.S. House, Montana could regain that seat following the 2020 U.S. Census, officials with The Brookings Institution forecast.
Montana’s resident population has grown from 989,400 in 2010 to an estimated 1.069 million in July 2019, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Montana lost its second U.S. House seat after the 1990 U.S. Census and has had just one member in the 435-member body since January 1993.
William Frey, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, said population estimates indicate Texas could gain three seats and Florida could gain two. Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina and Oregon are the other states that could gain a seat in the U.S. House. Ten states are forecast to lose a seat, including California for the first time, Frey said.
The 2020 Census will count residents as of April 1. The Census Bureau will deliver apportionment counts to the president and Congress in December 2020. States will have the information to start redrawing districts, if necessary, by March 31, 2021, the Census Bureau said.