As of Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Montana reports 271,875 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 105 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since Friday: 18 new cases in Gallatin County, 12 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, 12 new cases in Missoula County, 11 new cases in Lincoln County, and more new cases in 21 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 615. Currently, 47 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,226 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 966,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 79,500,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.
The period for candidates to get their names on the ballot closed Monday evening, setting the scene for this year’s midterm elections. The primary election is held in June and narrows down the field of candidates of a particular political party. The winner of the primary election is that
political party’s nominee for the general election in November.
For the first time in nearly three decades, Montanans will be electing representatives for two spots in Congress. That came after the 2020 U.S.
census determined that the state had grown enough in population to regain its second Congressional seat, lost in the 1990s.
In US House District 1, the newly drawn western Congressional district, nine candidates have filed for the seat, prompting busy primaries among five
Republicans and three Democrats, as well as a Libertarian candidate. In US House District 2, the newly drawn eastern Congressional district, eleven candidates are running, including incumbent Republican Matt Rosendale. He’ll be challenged in the primary by three other Republican candidates. Three Democrats and three Libertarians are also running.
Two seats on the five-person state Public Service Commission are up for election. The PSC districts were recently redrawn by a panel of federal judges after a lawsuit challenged the districts as wildly unequal in population. PSC Districts 1 and 5 are up for election this year.