Democrat Monica Tranel and Republican Ryan Zinke are competing for the seat in the Montana U.S. House western congressional district.
Montana’s rematch for the western congressional district between incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke and Democratic challenger Monica Tranel is playing out in communities where housing affordability and availability has looked and felt like a crisis for longtime residents.
It’s an issue that transcends partisanship, but there’s still some room for disagreement on whether Congress and the federal government have the ability to drive solutions on a problem that’s so largely steered by market forces for building materials, local zoning regulations and state tax policy.
The western district covers communities like Bozeman, Missoula and the Flathead Valley, where local governments are scrambling against the headlines of rising home prices and shrinking rental availabilities. Rural communities have not been spared, either. Granite County saw the highest spike in median residential value in the state last year at 67%.
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