Democrats’ crushing loss in Montana’s nationally important U.S. Senate race settled a fierce political debate over whether a surge of newcomers in the past decade favored Republicans.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been elected to lead the Republican Governors Association, a one-year position.

Republican Tim Sheehy has defeated three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Montana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse has provided 10 years of income tax records as he tries to goad Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte into debating him ahead of the November election.

Republican officials in Montana are pressing the state Supreme Court to overturn a landmark climate ruling in a lawsuit brought by young environmentalists.

Three-term incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Tester and Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy have cruised to victory in Montana’s primary election.

The general election for a race that could determine the Senate majority begins right after Montana voters lock in their nominees in Tuesday’s primaries.

The rhetorical “war on coal” is back as Republicans try to capitalize on moves by President Joe Biden's administration to rein in pollution and climate change.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he will send more of his state's National Guard soldiers to aid Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to control illegal crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Montana Republicans gathered in a hotel ballroom this weekend aiming to unite ahead of the 2024 election and defeat three-term incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

TikTok and a group of five content creators who are suing the state of Montana over its first-in-the-nation law to ban the video sharing app are now asking a federal judge to block implementation of the law while the case moves through the courts.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a law that gives Native American families preference in fostering and adopting Native children involved with child protective services.

Social media company TikTok has filed a lawsuit to overturn Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app.

TikTok is challenging Montana’s first-of-its kind law that makes it illegal for people to use the social media app in the state.

Montana has become the first state to enact a complete ban on TikTok.

In Montana, a court rebuffed one abortion restriction, but the governor quickly signed others into law.

Republican legislative leaders in Montana persisted in forbidding Democratic transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from participating in debate for a second week and her supporters brought the House session to a halt Monday — chanting “Let her speak!”.

The latest instance of one party deciding who can be heard during legislative debate has ended for now after a judge denied a transgender lawmaker's bid to return to the Montana House floor.

Montana lawmakers have given final passage to a bill banning the social media app TikTok in the state.

Montana moved one step closer to passing a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state.

The tax-cutting trend is going full force in states even as some are raising concerns about a slowing economy.

Throngs of tourists have gleefully returned to watch geysers erupt and bison cross roads at Yellowstone National Park as it partially reopens following destructive floods.

Montana's governor was not in Montana — or in the U.S. at all — when punishing floods hit Yellowstone National Park and communities on its fringes this week.

U.S. officials have approved a conservation group’s proposal to expand bison grazing on prairies in Montana amid objections from some ranchers and elected officials.

Twenty of Yellowstone National Park’s renowned gray wolves roamed from the park and were shot by hunters in neighboring states in recent months.

The Biden administration says federal protections may need to be restored for gray wolves in the western U.S. after Republican-led states made it much easier to kill the predators.

Fifteen Republican governors have sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Secretary, urging that the U.S. Census bureau release redistricting data as soon as possible.

North Korea continues to claim a perfect record in keeping out the coronavirus in its latest report to the World Health Organization.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has tested positive for COVID-19 a few days after receiving his first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

It's not clear if or when the Supreme Court might consider any of them, or take some other path. In addition to three appointments to the Supreme Court, giving it a 6-3 conservative majority, Trump made scores of appointments to federal district and appellate courts. “This is a decision that the Supreme Court is going to need to make,” he said. “It is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law,” he said. AdNancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said it would be “shocking” if the Supreme Court agreed to consider the Mississippi case.

The mood is more sober now a mix of disappointment over Trumps defeat and hope that his legacy of judicial appointments will lead to future court victories limiting abortion rights. The mood is more sober now — a mix of disappointment over Trump’s defeat and hope that his legacy of judicial appointments will lead to future court victories limiting abortion rights. Meanwhile, Trump, whose administration took numerous steps to curtail abortion access, has been replaced as president by Joe Biden, a staunch supporter of abortion rights. Bullock supported abortion rights during eight years in office. Becerra and Biden are Roman Catholic, and the new administration's support for abortion rights poses a dilemma for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:U.S. coronavirus deaths hit another one-day high at more than 4,300. California has lifted some stay-at-home orders in northern counties, while many orders remain in place where coronavirus cases are surging. The 270 million doses are being secured independent of the global COVAX facility aimed at distributing vaccines to lower-income countries. The state Health Department announced Wednesday that a man in his 60s who traveled to the UK in December has the variant. Portugal has witnessed a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases since it eased restrictions for the Christmas holiday.

“This was a status quo election.”Heading into Tuesday, Republicans had full control of 29 state legislatures compared to 19 for Democrats. “The reality is we are still running on very gerrymandered maps,” said Christina Polizzi, national press secretary for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. They were countered by the Republican state leadership committee, which had a target of about $70 million. But Republican redistricting power will be diminished in some states because of changes that occurred in recent years. Instead, Republicans added to their House ranks with more conservatives, increasing the potential to override vetoes by Democratic Gov.

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 file photo, Missouri Republican Gov. Its the most hotly contested of the nations 11 governors races this fall. Which party holds the governor's office could be especially consequential over the next few years. In governor’s races, many of the attack ads are funded by each party’s governors association. In the governor’s race, he said Gianforte’s financial support of a Montana museum dedicated to creationist beliefs was a big problem.

They worked in tandem to attain huge riches in the corporate world before leveraging that success into a political juggernaut that has reshaped the state’s Republican Party. It's a shift Montana Democrats argue is out of step with the state’s independent-minded electorate. Gianforte, one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. House, has been boosted in his run for Montana governor by Daines’ clout. Democrats as recently as 2014 held both Montana U.S. Senate seats, the governor’s mansion and a bevy of other statewide offices. Daines and Gianforte “fit the party like a glove right now,” University of Montana political analyst Rob Saldin said.

– Vice President Mike Pence has canceled plans to attend a Trump campaign fundraiser in Montana following revelations that the event's hosts had expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. The change comes after the AP reported Wednesday that hosts Cayrn and Michael Borland in Bozeman, Montana, had shared QAnon memes and retweeted posts from QAnon accounts. The QAnon narrative has grown to include other long-standing conspiracy theories, gaining traction among some extreme Trump supporters. Pence has said it's a conspiracy theory and last month told CBS, “I don’t know anything about QAnon, and I dismiss it out of hand."" In April, she responded to a pro-Trump Tweet from a QAnon account by replying “Always” with a praying hands emoji.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an attempt by the Montana secretary of state to restore Green Party candidates to the November ballot. Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton filed a motion Monday to halt the state Supreme Court order. Stapletons certification of the November ballot, sent to counties late Thursday, included an asterisk saying the secretary and other parties were challenging the Montana Supreme Court decision. Green Party candidates are believed to draw votes away from Democratic candidates. It was never determined who was behind the 2018 effort to get Green Party candidates on the Montana ballot.

Shortly after fireworks above Mount Rushmore disappeared into the night sky on Friday, South Dakota Gov. Noem had tested negative for COVID-19 shortly before welcoming Trump to South Dakota on Friday. But that runs counter to guidance from public health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that advises people to wear masks when interacting with people outside their household. As the number of people hospitalized from COVID-19 in South Dakota has decreased in recent weeks to just 59 people statewide, Noem has doubled down on her relaxed approach to the pandemic. Seidel said the governor worries about other effects of the virus, such as unemployment and domestic violence.

(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)MELBOURNE, Australia The hard-hit Australian state of Victoria has recorded 74 new coronavirus cases after announcing a record 108 new infections on Saturday. The agency says 43 of the newly reported cases were locally infected patients. ___BEIJING Chinese officials have reported eight new confirmed COVID-19 cases as a recent outbreak in Beijing appears to have largely run its course. ____AUSTIN, Texas Texas has reported its biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases 8,258. Texas health officials on Saturday said the states total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is now at 191,790.