WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Have you ever found yourself falling down an 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:05.160 internet rabbit hole? Oh, absolutely. You know, 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:07.259 staring at what looks like a completely dry, 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.859 incredibly boring list of historical names and 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:13.400 dates. Like a Wikipedia page. Right, exactly 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:16.859 like a Wikipedia page of politicians. And suddenly 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:19.539 you realize you are actually looking at a script 00:00:19.539 --> 00:00:23.600 packed with unbelievable drama, scandal, and 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:27.960 sheer strategic genius. Welcome to today's Deep 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.480 Dive. I am so glad you're joining us. Because 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.659 we are going to extract the hidden stories embedded 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:36.920 in one of those seemingly mundane lists. Yeah, 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:39.280 we are. It really is amazing how much of human 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:43.299 nature, ambition, and institutional maneuvering 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:45.479 is hidden in plain sight. Hidden right there 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:47.719 in the open. Right, just buried inside the columns 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.179 and rows of a historical data table. You just 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:51.799 have to know how to read the patterns. Okay, 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:54.130 let's unpack this. Our mission today is to explore 00:00:54.130 --> 00:00:55.909 the history of United States senators from the 00:00:55.909 --> 00:00:58.149 state of Montana. And we are looking way beyond 00:00:58.149 --> 00:01:00.890 the basic names and dates here. Way beyond. We 00:01:00.890 --> 00:01:03.689 want to see exactly how power is won, how it 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:06.129 is fiercely protected, and how it is creatively 00:01:06.129 --> 00:01:08.129 transferred in a high -stakes game of American 00:01:08.129 --> 00:01:12.450 politics. So to get us started, could you lay 00:01:12.450 --> 00:01:14.969 out the basic framework for when Montana actually 00:01:14.969 --> 00:01:18.230 entered this political arena? Absolutely. So 00:01:18.230 --> 00:01:20.450 Montana was officially admitted to the union 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:23.849 on November 8th, 1889. 1889. Got it. Now, as 00:01:23.849 --> 00:01:26.230 we know, the Senate staggers its election so 00:01:26.230 --> 00:01:28.469 that a state's two senators are never up for 00:01:28.469 --> 00:01:31.230 reelection at the exact same time. The seats 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:32.969 are divided into what are called class one and 00:01:32.969 --> 00:01:35.150 class two. Right. Which is standard for every 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:37.829 state. Exactly. But what jumps out immediately 00:01:37.829 --> 00:01:40.450 in the historical record is that Montana's entry 00:01:40.450 --> 00:01:43.069 into the Senate wasn't a clean, organized process 00:01:43.069 --> 00:01:46.400 at all. I'll say. You would think that after 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:48.760 fighting to become a state, the very first thing 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:50.420 a leadership would do is send their representatives 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:52.439 to Washington. You'd think that would be day 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:54.980 one. Right. To start wielding their new power. 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:58.260 But there is a bizarre initial quirk. They get 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:00.840 statehood in November of 1889, but they don't 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:02.859 actually elect their first senators until January 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:05.859 of 1890. Which is crazy. It takes them almost 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.319 two full months to get anyone in those seats. 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:10.800 Right. It's a remarkably slow start off the block. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.099 Just dragging their feet. When they finally do 00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:15.400 send their representatives, we see Wilbur F. 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:18.000 Sanders taking the class one seat and Thomas 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.419 C. Power taking the class two seat. And they 00:02:20.419 --> 00:02:22.240 were both Republicans from Molina, right? They 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:25.060 were. But that initial two month delay was just 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:27.539 a minor hiccup compared to the systemic breakdown 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:29.819 that happens just a few years later. Right. What 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:32.639 happens a few years later? So from March 3, 1893, 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:36.379 all the way to January. 16th, 1895, the class 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:39.419 one Senate seat just sat completely vacant. Wait, 00:02:39.419 --> 00:02:44.039 wait. Nobody was in it. From 1893 to 1895. Yes. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:48.659 That is almost two entire years. How does a state 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:51.659 just lose a Senate seat for two years? The historical 00:02:51.659 --> 00:02:54.319 record points to a very specific reason for this. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.960 The text explicitly notes that the legislature 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.120 failed to elect a senator. They just failed to 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.319 elect one. Right. Remember, historically, state 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.319 legislatures were the ones making the choice, 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:06.759 not the general public at a ballot box like we 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:09.319 do today. Sure. Before the rules changed. Exactly. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.520 And in this case, the Montana legislature simply 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.900 could not resolve its own internal gridlock to 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:18.560 send someone to Washington. That is mind boggling 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.680 when you think about. The real world implications 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:23.180 of that. I mean, try to imagine a state today 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:27.039 just simply failing to send a senator to Washington 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:30.219 for two years. A state voluntarily operating 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:33.599 at 50 percent power because the politicians back 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:36.259 home are stuck in a stalemate. It's hard to fathom. 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:40.139 Imagine the sheer loss of leverage. You were 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:42.599 giving up your voice on critical national issues. 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:45.539 You were missing out on federal resources, all 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:47.780 because the local legislature is deadlocked. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.740 And that rocky early period really sets the tone. 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:53.060 It does. It forces us to realize that the rules 00:03:53.060 --> 00:03:55.219 of political representation, especially in those 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:57.879 early days of statehood, were much more fragile. 00:03:58.020 --> 00:04:00.520 And susceptible to human error. Highly susceptible 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.759 to human error. Much more than we might assume. 00:04:03.229 --> 00:04:05.389 Eventually, that seat was filled by a Republican 00:04:05.389 --> 00:04:07.990 from Butte named Lee Mantle. Okay, so they finally 00:04:07.990 --> 00:04:09.909 got someone in there. Yeah, he was elected to 00:04:09.909 --> 00:04:12.430 finish out the vacant term. But those two lost 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:15.370 years are permanently etched into the state's 00:04:15.370 --> 00:04:17.610 record. Which brings us to an era that honestly 00:04:17.610 --> 00:04:19.509 sounds like a script for a political thriller. 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:21.990 Oh, it really does. If you thought an empty seat 00:04:21.990 --> 00:04:24.430 was wild, let's look at the people who actually 00:04:24.430 --> 00:04:26.449 managed to get elected. Talk to me about William 00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:29.170 Clark. Okay, William Clark. He was a Democrat 00:04:29.170 --> 00:04:32.009 from Butte. And he was elected to the class one 00:04:32.009 --> 00:04:35.870 seat in March of 1899. All right. March 1899. 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:38.149 Now, normally you would expect a newly elected 00:04:38.149 --> 00:04:40.730 senator to settle in for a standard six year 00:04:40.730 --> 00:04:43.389 term. Sure. But just over a year later, on May 00:04:43.389 --> 00:04:47.370 15th, 1900, Clark suddenly resigns. Just a year 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.209 in. Why would someone fight to get to the United 00:04:50.209 --> 00:04:52.850 States Senate and then walk away a year later? 00:04:53.009 --> 00:04:55.569 The reason recorded is a phenomenal piece of 00:04:55.569 --> 00:04:58.490 political maneuvering. He resigned to avoid a 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:01.470 claim of election fraud. To avoid a claim of 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:04.209 election fraud. That is incredible. It's quite 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:06.850 the strategy. But he doesn't just step down in 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:08.829 disgrace and disappear into the shadows, does 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:11.350 he? That doesn't seem to be how ambition at this 00:05:11.350 --> 00:05:13.910 level works. Not at all. What's fascinating here 00:05:13.910 --> 00:05:16.470 is how the mechanics of power operate when a 00:05:16.470 --> 00:05:18.870 politician's back is against the wall. What does 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:21.389 he do? The immediate sequence of events following 00:05:21.389 --> 00:05:24.449 his resignation is almost hard to believe. Clark 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:26.810 was essentially appointed to continue his own 00:05:26.810 --> 00:05:29.629 vacant term. Hold on. Let me make sure I'm following 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:32.370 this correctly. Go ahead. He resigns to wipe 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:35.230 the slate clean of the fraud allegations regarding 00:05:35.230 --> 00:05:38.269 his election. Right. And then, having created 00:05:38.269 --> 00:05:41.910 a vacancy, he immediately tries to bypass the 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.649 election process entirely by getting himself 00:05:44.649 --> 00:05:47.189 appointed right back into the exact same chair. 00:05:47.389 --> 00:05:50.480 That is the strategy. It is sheer audacity. It 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:54.079 is a brilliant, if highly controversial attempt 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:56.759 at a procedural loophole. But it doesn't actually 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:58.439 work out for him, right? No, it hits a wall. 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:00.399 The record notes that while he was appointed, 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:03.279 he did not qualify. What does that mean in this 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.519 context? How does an appointed senator? Not qualify. 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:09.240 Well, in the United States Senate, the chamber 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.000 itself holds the ultimate authority to seat its 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.600 members. Oh, I see. They can refuse to seat someone 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.920 if there are unresolved ethical clouds or administrative 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.459 hurdles. Essentially, the system fought back 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:22.699 against this blatant loophole attempt. They weren't 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:24.740 going to let him just sneak back in. Exactly. 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.680 Because he didn't qualify, he couldn't take the 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:31.339 seat. Consequently, that Senate chair sat vacant 00:06:31.339 --> 00:06:35.220 again. Another vacancy. Yes, from May 1900 until 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:39.120 March 1901, when a man named Paris Gibson was 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.860 finally elected to finish the term. You would 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:43.920 think that is the definitive end of the William 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:46.959 Clark saga. He tried a brazen stunt, he was blocked 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:49.420 by the institution, and he is out of Washington. 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:52.120 You would think so. But that's not the end of 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.709 his story, is it? Far from it. This is where 00:06:54.709 --> 00:06:57.769 we see the sheer stubbornness of early 20th century 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:00.629 politics. It's wild. Despite the fraud claims 00:07:00.629 --> 00:07:03.050 that forced his resignation and despite the failed 00:07:03.050 --> 00:07:04.850 attempt to appoint himself to his own vacant 00:07:04.850 --> 00:07:08.410 seat. Yeah. In 1901, William Clark simply runs 00:07:08.410 --> 00:07:11.069 for the other Senate seat. The class two seat. 00:07:11.189 --> 00:07:13.649 Correct. Are you kidding me? I'm not. He gets 00:07:13.649 --> 00:07:16.069 elected to the class two seat in 1901 and ends 00:07:16.069 --> 00:07:18.649 up serving a full term all the way until 1907. 00:07:18.949 --> 00:07:21.610 He basically gets a red card, walks off the field, 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:23.819 puts on a. slightly different jersey and walks 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:26.060 right back into the game for six years. That's 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:28.639 a great way to put it. It is an amazing testament 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.899 to how aggressively the boundaries of the rules 00:07:31.899 --> 00:07:34.220 were being tested in those early days. It absolutely 00:07:34.220 --> 00:07:36.879 is. And it highlights a major transition point 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:38.600 in the political history we are tracking here. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:40.899 Because things start to settle down after this. 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:44.240 Right. We move from these chaotic, volatile early 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.259 years, which are marked by two year vacancies, 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:50.160 gridlock and election fraud claims. Just constant 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.699 drama. To an era that is defined by the exact 00:07:52.699 --> 00:07:56.500 opposite. We enter an era of incredible, unshakable 00:07:56.500 --> 00:07:59.779 stability. Shifting gears here. After Clark essentially 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:01.899 turns the Senate seat into a revolving door, 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:05.160 Montana seems to completely change its strategy. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:07.980 Completely. They go from total chaos to finding 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:10.220 representatives they refuse to ever let leave. 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:13.139 Let's talk about the marathon runners of Montana 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:16.040 politics. The long haulers. Right. I want you 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.199 to think about how long it takes to truly master 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.899 a job. Any job. to know exactly which levers 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:24.779 to pull to get things done, and to build deep, 00:08:24.819 --> 00:08:27.819 trusting relationships. It takes years. Decades, 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:30.660 sometimes. And in the Senate, seniority is everything. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.960 For most of the 20th century, Montana's strategy 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.200 was clearly to find a Democrat they liked and 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:38.320 just keep them in Washington for decades. That's 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.480 exactly what the data shows. Who is the first 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.100 major figure we see in this era of dominance? 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.539 The roster of giants begins with Thomas J. Walsh. 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.500 He was a Democrat from Helena. Okay. When did 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:52.320 he start? He was elected in 1913 and he served 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.919 until he died in office in 1933. Wow. That is 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:59.720 20 continuous years in the Senate. 20 years. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.480 To put that in perspective. He goes to Washington 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:05.919 before World War I even begins, and he is still 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:07.679 there during the depths of the Great Depression. 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.659 That is an entire generation of history overseen 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:12.740 by one individual. Who follows him. Following 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:15.519 Walsh, we see James E. Murray, a Democrat from 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.720 Duke. He was elected to finish Walsh's term in 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:21.059 1934. And he stays a while, too. Oh, yes. He 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:24.740 wins re -election in 1936, 1940, 1942, and so 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:28.179 on. He serves all the way to 1961. That is 27 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:31.539 years. 27 years. Yep. And during that time, he 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:33.960 overlaps with another incredibly long serving 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.940 figure, right? Yes. Mike Mansfield, a Democrat 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:40.220 from Missoula. Mansfield was elected in 1952, 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:45.220 took office in 1953 and served until 1977. That 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:48.299 gives him 24 years of continuous influence. Exactly. 00:09:48.379 --> 00:09:51.629 We're talking about a relatively small. population 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:54.470 state holding on to Senate seats like they are 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:56.750 family heirlooms. It really is a striking pattern. 00:09:56.990 --> 00:10:00.049 But even 27 years pales in comparison to the 00:10:00.049 --> 00:10:02.269 absolute record holder on this list. It does. 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:05.470 That title belongs to Max Baucus. Max Baucus. 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:07.950 A Democrat from Helena, Baucus started serving 00:10:07.950 --> 00:10:10.850 in 1978 and did not leave office until 2014. 00:10:11.370 --> 00:10:15.350 Wait, from 1978 to 2014? 36 years in the United 00:10:15.350 --> 00:10:18.389 States Senate. 36 years. Think about the scope 00:10:18.389 --> 00:10:21.669 of a 36 -year career in one. building. It's monumental. 00:10:21.730 --> 00:10:23.570 We really need to dive into the implications 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:26.330 of this. Why does a state keep the exact same 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:28.509 representative for that long? What is the strategic 00:10:28.509 --> 00:10:30.509 advantage there? Well, if we connect this to 00:10:30.509 --> 00:10:33.090 the bigger picture, keeping the same representative 00:10:33.090 --> 00:10:35.990 for three decades fundamentally changes a state's 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:38.129 relationship with the federal government. How 00:10:38.129 --> 00:10:41.789 so? It builds immense institutional memory. After 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:44.870 20 or 30 years, these senators aren't just participating 00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:46.950 in the legislative system. They know it inside 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:49.509 and out. They essentially are the system. Because 00:10:49.509 --> 00:10:51.179 of the way the Senate values seniority. Right, 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:53.919 precisely. Seniority dictates everything. The 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:56.360 longer you stay, the more power you accumulate. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:59.240 So it's a compounding advantage. Exactly. You 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:01.759 secure powerful committee chairmanships, you 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.840 build deep networks of alliances, and you develop 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.779 an unparalleled understanding of complex legislative 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.909 procedure. Which means you can deliver for your 00:11:10.909 --> 00:11:13.610 constituents. Yes. For a state with a smaller 00:11:13.610 --> 00:11:16.470 population, having representatives who have outlasted 00:11:16.470 --> 00:11:19.289 five or six presidential administrations is a 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:22.309 massive strategic advantage. They have the leverage 00:11:22.309 --> 00:11:25.690 to direct federal attention and resources that 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:28.509 a freshman senator simply does not possess. Here's 00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:30.990 where it gets really interesting. Because Max 00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:34.009 Baucus didn't just win an election in 1978 and 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:36.570 quietly wait to take his seat. No, he didn't. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:39.039 The way he actually entered the Senate is an 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.559 absolute masterclass in exploiting procedural 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:44.720 loopholes. It is the art of the political handoff. 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:47.700 It is easily one of the most fascinating strategic 00:11:47.700 --> 00:11:50.379 maneuvers we see in this entire historical review. 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:53.279 Walk us through the events of 1978 because the 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.559 timeline here is crucial. Okay, so early in 1978. 00:11:57.149 --> 00:12:00.230 Senator Lee Metcalfe died in office. To ensure 00:12:00.230 --> 00:12:03.149 the state had representation, a man named Paul 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:05.909 G. Hatfield was appointed to finish out Metcalfe's 00:12:05.909 --> 00:12:08.330 term. So Hatfield is essentially keeping the 00:12:08.330 --> 00:12:11.909 seat warm. Exactly. But then an election happens 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:14.190 for the fall term that will follow. Hatfield 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:16.289 runs for the nomination to keep the seat, but 00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:18.929 he loses. He loses the nomination to Max Baucus. 00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:21.649 Correct. And then Baucus goes on to win the general 00:12:21.649 --> 00:12:25.769 election in November of 1978. He does. Now, logically, 00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:27.990 Baucus would just wait until his elected term 00:12:27.990 --> 00:12:31.190 officially begins in January of 1979 to go to 00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:33.490 Washington. Just like every other newly elected 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:35.909 senator across the country. Right. But that is 00:12:35.909 --> 00:12:39.549 not what happens. No. On December 14, 1978, Paul 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:41.769 G. Hatfield suddenly resigns from his appointed 00:12:41.769 --> 00:12:44.830 seat. He voluntarily steps down a few weeks before 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:47.129 the term ends. Just a few weeks. And the very 00:12:47.129 --> 00:12:50.509 next day, on December 15, 1978, Max Baucus is 00:12:50.509 --> 00:12:52.769 officially appointed to that vacant seat. Why? 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:55.879 Why go through the administrative hassle of an 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:58.179 appointment for a job you're going to officially 00:12:58.179 --> 00:13:01.179 start in just three weeks anyway? The historical 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:04.659 note clarifies the strategy beautifully. The 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:08.139 text explicitly states Hatfield resigned to give 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:11.480 his successor preferential seniority. Preferential 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.059 seniority. It sounds so incredibly bureaucratic, 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:18.440 but it is actually a devastatingly clever tactical 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:21.940 move. Let's analyze why skipping the line by 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:24.639 three weeks matters so much in the Senate. It's 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:26.519 all about how the system works. In the United 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:30.000 States Senate, every six years, a whole new freshman 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.320 class of senators arrives in Washington at the 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.179 exact same time in early January. Like the first 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:37.720 day of school. Right. And within that incoming 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:40.500 class, they are all basically tied for seniority. 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:42.980 They are the new kids on the block. But by having 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:45.460 Hatfield resign in mid -December and having Baucus 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:47.860 appointed immediately, Baucus officially became 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:50.279 a U .S. senator a few weeks before all the other 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:52.399 newly elected senators across the country. Exactly. 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:55.259 He jumps ahead of the entire incoming freshman 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:58.120 class in the seniority rankings. While everyone 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.470 else is waiting for January to roll around. Baucus 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:04.289 is already sworn in. It is a tiny administrative 00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:06.429 technicality, just a few weeks on a calendar, 00:14:06.590 --> 00:14:10.169 but it grants the state a crucial structural 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:13.149 advantage from day one. Day one. He gets first 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:15.929 pick on committee assignments, better office 00:14:15.929 --> 00:14:19.009 space, higher speaking order. And when you realize 00:14:19.009 --> 00:14:22.610 he stayed there for 36 years, that tiny head 00:14:22.610 --> 00:14:25.309 start cascaded into a lifetime of legislative 00:14:25.309 --> 00:14:28.009 advantage. It is brilliant. And it demonstrates 00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:30.929 a highly sophisticated level of party core. Because 00:14:30.929 --> 00:14:43.370 they had to work together on this. Which is fascinating. 00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:45.830 Furthermore, if we look at the broader timeline, 00:14:46.250 --> 00:14:48.929 this kind of strategic maneuvering around vacancies 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:51.669 isn't an isolated incident. It's a recurring 00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:54.090 theme. The musical chairs definitely don't stop 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:57.220 in 1978. What happens when Baucus finally leaves? 00:14:57.379 --> 00:14:59.639 Well, when Max Baucus left the Senate in 2014, 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:02.379 John Walsh was appointed to finish out the remainder 00:15:02.379 --> 00:15:05.279 of Baucus's term. Walsh ran in the election to 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.559 win a full term of his own, but the record notes 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.720 he eventually withdrew. And we see strategic 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:12.019 departures even more recently, don't we? We do. 00:15:12.669 --> 00:15:15.370 John Tester, another Democrat who served a very 00:15:15.370 --> 00:15:19.590 long tenure from 2007 to 2025, ended up resigning 00:15:19.590 --> 00:15:21.870 from his seat early. Not because he was voted 00:15:21.870 --> 00:15:24.570 out. No, he resigned to become the U .S. ambassador 00:15:24.570 --> 00:15:27.750 to China. Over and over, we see that the transition 00:15:27.750 --> 00:15:30.690 of power is rarely just a simple matter of waiting 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:33.049 for Election Day. It's much more orchestrated 00:15:33.049 --> 00:15:36.070 than that. It is actively managed, timed, and 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:38.750 negotiated. Which brings us right up to the present 00:15:38.750 --> 00:15:41.289 day. As we bring you to the current landscape. 00:15:41.789 --> 00:15:43.789 Keeping in mind, our information is up to date 00:15:43.789 --> 00:15:47.070 as of March 2026. Right. The picture looks very 00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:49.490 different than the decades of dominance by long 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:52.809 serving Democrats like Murray, Mansfield, Baucus 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:56.399 and Tester. The modern era represents a distinct 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.980 shift in the state's political alignment on the 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:01.279 federal level. Let's impartially detail the current 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.299 makeup. So both of Montana's current United States 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:07.299 senators are Republicans. We have Steve Daines, 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.860 who has been serving since 2015, and Tim Sheehy, 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:14.279 who just started serving in 2025 following Tester's 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:17.159 departure. It is a complete changing of the guard. 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:20.019 And it is not just the Senate, is it? We need 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:21.899 to round out the picture with the House. Right. 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:24.120 The full delegation picture reflects the same 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:26.840 shift. Looking at Montana's representatives in 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.679 the House, we see Ryan Zink and Troy Downing. 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.440 Both of whom are Republicans. Yes. So as of March 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.980 2026, Montana has a completely unified party 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:38.620 delegation at the federal level. A striking contrast 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:40.759 to the long stretches of Democratic control we 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.259 just analyzed. What does the immediate future 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:46.049 look like for these Senate seats? Well, the machinery 00:16:46.049 --> 00:16:48.289 of the Senate never actually stops. It just prepares 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:50.429 for the next cycle. True. The class two seat 00:16:50.429 --> 00:16:52.789 will be contested in the rapidly approaching 00:16:52.789 --> 00:16:55.889 2026 election. And the class one seat will be 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:58.690 up for a vote in 2030. So what does this all 00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:01.169 mean? We started today by looking at what appeared 00:17:01.169 --> 00:17:04.750 to be just a dry table of names, dates and political 00:17:04.750 --> 00:17:07.339 parties. Just raw data. But when you take the 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:10.839 time to really look closely, that grid of data 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.660 transforms into this incredible living story 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:17.059 of political evolution. We saw a new state stumble 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.680 out of the gate with two year vacancies, crippling 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:21.980 its own power. We watched a politician try to 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:24.640 erase a scandal by resigning and audaciously 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:27.140 trying to reappoint himself to his own job. We 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:30.000 tracked decades long political dynasties that 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.240 amassed massive institutional power by simply 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:36.140 refusing to lose. And we uncovered brilliant 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:39.000 procedural loopholes, like a senator resigning 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:41.700 three weeks early just to gift his successor 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:44.400 the golden ticket of preferential seniority. 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:47.619 Because behind every single piece of seemingly 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:51.500 mundane data is human ambition, calculated strategy 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.440 and deep, complex history. It really highlights 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:56.420 the hidden mechanics of governance that operate 00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:58.500 just below the surface of public awareness. It 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:00.240 really does. And it raises an important question, 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:01.819 something I'd like you to mull over as we wrap 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:03.960 up. Let's hear it. When you look at this historical 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.740 record and you see how often these Senate seats 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:09.059 changed hands, not through the traditional ballot 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:12.619 box, but through sudden deaths, through temporary 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:15.220 appointments and through highly strategic early 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:18.059 resignations designed to manipulate the seniority 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:21.549 system. How much of a state's true political 00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:24.369 power in Washington is actually determined by 00:18:24.369 --> 00:18:26.650 the voters on Election Day? And how much of it 00:18:26.650 --> 00:18:30.250 is quietly engineered by the politicians playing 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:32.609 the procedural game behind the scenes? The balance 00:18:32.609 --> 00:18:34.890 between the ballot and the bureaucracy. That 00:18:34.890 --> 00:18:36.869 is a fantastic thought to leave off on. Thank 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:39.210 you so much for joining us on this deep dive 00:18:39.210 --> 00:18:41.470 into the hidden history of Montana's Senate seats. 00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:43.829 We hope you walk away looking at data just a 00:18:43.829 --> 00:18:46.250 little bit differently. Stay curious, keep looking 00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:48.410 for the stories hiding in the margins, and we 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:49.970 will catch you on the next deep dive.