Nicole Girten Daily Montanan

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy said in a recent interview with Breitbart News there were more bears than people in Montana, which estimates don’t support, and by a long shot.

“This is a state where there’s not a lot of people. There’s more cows than people, there’s more bears than people, and we’re not used to having a lot of political clout. Presidential elections or electoral votes don’t mean a whole lot, ” Sheehy said in the interview.

Sheehy, who would face Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in a general election, made this statement trying to put Montana’s smaller population in context. Sheehy’s comment more cows roam the state than people is accurate, as reported by Montana Free Press, but experts in the state said Sheehy’s bear comment was wildly off the mark. ...

Censured and removed from the Montana House floor, Rep. Zooey Zephyr arrived for work on Thursday morning and made a makeshift “Desk 31,” her desk number assigned by the Legislature, down the hallway just feet away from where 99 other representatives were seated.

Zephyr said House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, told her she’d have to move.

“The Speaker came and told me ‘You can’t be here, this needs to be for the public,’” Zephyr said. “And I said I want to be as close as I’m allowed to be. Am I allowed to be here?” ...

Zephyr said House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, told her she’d have to move.

“The Speaker came and told me ‘You can’t be here, this needs to be for the public,’” Zephyr said. “And I said I want to be as close as I’m allowed to be. Am I allowed to be here?”

After that, Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, said she spoke with the Speaker so that Zephyr would be allowed to be in the hallway on a bench, which is usually occupied by lobbyists and visitors. ...

Protesters threw gloves covered in fake blood on the House floor Monday as police with batons and helmets made arrests and cleared the House Gallery and dissenters continued to shout.

Zephyr, the first transgender woman elected to the Montana state house, had punched in to speak, and Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, stood up, along with fellow Democrats, to say Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, had not recognized Zephyr.

Emotion was high on the sidelines as Democrats held back tears in solidarity with Zephyr. Law enforcement arrested at least seven protestors in all, including some who were detained in the gallery during the demonstration. ...

The last year already had been an “absolute nightmare” for her and her elections staff because the skeptics called for the hand counting of paper ballots, among other unrealistic demands, Moore said.

Moore said Friday, the group waited for Moore and her staff, along with election observers from both parties, in the parking lot after they had been working to prepare provisional ballots to be counted Monday along with military ballots and ballots that may need to have signature issues resolved if they don’t match or a voter forgot to sign.

The doors were locked as it was a holiday, and Moore said they didn’t want them unlocked with no one else in the building. But she said people called her staff and said they thought it was strange employees were in the office on Friday and “we just want to make sure you’re not fixing this election for Rina.” ...