Aaron Flint’s Misleading Claims on Montana’s Congressional Redistricting

Disputed Claims Over Montana’s Congressional Districts

Republican candidate Aaron Flint has sparked controversy with statements regarding Montana’s congressional district maps.

During a June 18 interview on the David Webb Show, Flint suggested that the state’s 1st District boundaries were crafted to favor Democrats. Flint, who previously worked as a radio host, is contesting this district against Democrat Sam Forstag.

“After the 2020 census, the state got split in two,” Flint remarked. “This Western congressional district that I’m running for this year is a battleground district. This race could determine control of the House of Representatives, but the Democrats basically gerrymandered this seat here in western Montana for a time like this.”

Flint reiterated this claim in a 2023 social media post, stating, “Dems control redistricting which gave us the gerrymandered districts.”

However, the facts tell a different story. The congressional map currently used by Montana was initially proposed by Republican members and received approval from the chair of the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission. The map was created following the 2020 census, which led to Montana gaining an additional U.S. House district after almost 30 years of having only one at-large representative.

Kendra Miller, a Democratic member of the redistricting commission, informed the Associated Press that the new district was inclined toward Republicans and is “not a competitive district in my mind.”

On the other hand, Republican commission member Dan Stusek expressed his satisfaction with the map’s approval, stating he was “pleasantly surprised.”

Data supports Miller’s viewpoint. The commission’s findings showed that Democrats would have succeeded in the district only roughly 25% of the time if it had been established before 2020.

In spite of this historical context, a recent Impact Research poll from June indicates a tight race between Flint and Forstag, with a significant portion of voters still undecided.

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