Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Montana residents question

I am in a discussion on another forum with a few liberals. My claim is the state is having a increase in liberals due to the lefties are leaving the liberal states of California, Oregon, possibly other states and moving to MT? Do you feel this is true and see it happening? I also believe these same people are voting for more democrats.

Not over east here.....well, maybe Billings. Not sure.


My county is 50% liberal already. 50-50 white/native.



I have heard the same thing about the western side of Montana, but I rarely go over there.

Montana is a large state. Certain areas do indeed attract liberals, other areas non at all. For example Missoula is full of the craziest liberals you can imagine, Glasgow not so much.

One interesting phenomenon we have that other western states don't have is our largest city, Billings is still conservative and blue collar.

Certain areas such as Bozemen, Whitefish, Missoula and Flathead lake attract liberals like flies. Luckily in places like the Flathead many of the liberals are summer residents and therefore don't vote locally.

They are moving here though and bringing their problems and liberal ways with them.

They are very out of touch with the locals and the issues the locals face. Montana is around #48 on the wage scale, it is hard to make a living here.
Most locals work 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet.

The Calif. transplants have money to burn and the attitude to go along with it.

Montana is changing.

Not limited to Montana, it's the whole inter mountain west. Buy it up and lock it up seems to be there motto!

Same in Wyoming.

One BIG draw to liberals are states with LOTS of public land.

They feel like they have a voice in those places and have influence in how public lands are administered, even though they don't own property themselves.

Kingfisher: My county (Beaverhead) is the largest physical size county in all of Montana - not so many folks here though (9,200 total!) but we voted just over 70% for President Donald J. Trump!
Pretty much dittos for other Republican politicians.
I know a LOT of people in this county and VERY few of them are demonrats!
Enter this into your argument/thinking on this subject - 64% of ALL people in Montana (residents!) were born in another state!
I was shocked to learn that in the last census!
Young folks born here get educated and move to Salt lake, Minneapolis, Texas or the west coast for higher paying jobs.
Retired folks move here for the low taxes and wonderful lifestyle.
Indeed some of the demonrats who move here still vote - and thats sad.
A few hippy types move to Montana as well but their numbers are small and they are all communists - so they vote demonrat.
I have been living in Montana for 20 years now and the demonrats (liberals/progressives/socialists/communists/demonrats) have been increasing in number slightly over that time.
Good luck arguing with liberals/progressives,socialists/communists/demonrats)!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Locals often call Bozeman Bozangeles. Bozeman and Missoula are the only areas of Montana where I’ve found the nasty and rude California attitude and are the only two areas I’ve visited in Montana that I wouldn’t move to.

Is it OK for me to move to Montana, vote conservative, mind my own business and ask to be be left alone?

Only if you promise to do that.

You would have to move over east here.

Been to Whitefish lately?

I moved down to the Bozeman area 40 years ago when it was still an agricultural, lumber, and cow town. Unfortunately it has turned into Bozangeles. Many, many of the farms around Bozeman are now only growing townhouses, tract homes, and apartments. The lumber mills that used to be a large part of our economy are gone, and our forests are ravaged by insects and fire. Our once great Montana State University College National Rodeo Finals was dropped because of three tobacco sponsorship, and CNFR parade was replaced with a gay and lesbian parade. In the last Presidential election, Gallatin County (Bozeman) went for the Hildebeast, as did Missoula County.

No , I haven’t spent any time in the area. If it’s like Bozeman I don’t ever want to go there.

Another problem is that many locals vote Dem because Dad and Grandpa voted Dem. They aren't bright enough to know that the party left them 40+ years ago.

Happening in many conservative states. Rust belt refuges head south for jobs, lower taxes, and better weather. They bring with it liberal ideas and votes.

I've always heard that yankees are like hemorrhoids. They both go down and don't go back up, and they're both a pain in the ass.

I have actually read data that stated the opposite to be true as people migrate to places that support their political and social beliefs.



https://thebluereview.org/dont-california-idaho/

Hit it on the head. Granted i moved here from elsewhere, if also from a place nearly as small, rural hoping to hunt, hike, fish, be left alone and likewise towards others. That’s what i want, and have zero interest in “reshaping it,” which is the default attitude of many newcomers conciously or not. Whether the influx is Liberal vs conservative, its mixed but the outward attitudes regardless appear similar. Through my work, i visit with a steady stream of newcomers, largely semi-affluent retirees from california and elsewhere, many really decent folks and yet more proudly proclaiming (with naivete or arrogance, its hard to tell) what property they all just bought and what they want added to the town, and what we’re doing wrong. Naturally, this rubs most others wrong. We’re up to six damn coffee shops in a town of 2600; nutjobs screaming a city council meetings that the snowplow didnt get to their exclusive mtn hideaway’s driveway by 6am sharp, etc etc,, if that tells you anything. Meanwhile, what our little economically challenged town wants is not more retail to cater to the affluent and their spawn, but one or two small industries to return and foster people making a meaningful living again. Have lived here two years, and already feel some urge to leave for someplace less colored by outside influences.

Been to north idaho? What people answer on a survey means what? One mans conservative is another's liberal.

Having a hard time believing any data anymore. it's so easy to make the polls match what out come you want.