Montana's Politicians Have Lost Their Ties to Land

Tim Sheehy, the Republican seeking to unseat Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester, is a business executive born and raised out of state. That same description applies to Troy Downing, a Republican running for one of Montana’s two Congressional seats. Same for Montana’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte and his challenger, Democrat Ryan Busse.

I have nothing against out-of-staters moving to Montana or working at a business. I fit both categories myself years ago. But I think this change in politicians’ backgrounds reflects a change in how Montanans view their identity.

Previous Montana politi...