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Akashic

state senate district

Montana 17th State Senate District

Contests in this Place (42 available)

President34 · 1892–2024 · 3 mapped

▦ precinct · ▥ counties · ▢ no spatial detail

President margin by year

Place winner margin

1892–2024 · D minus R

Full record · 1892 → 2024

2024

Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab

The precinct map shows the 2024 presidential vote; the timeline scrubs the district’s overall result across 1892–2024, on its current boundaries.

People and households

Who lives here

Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.

Race · ethnicity · ancestry

Communities and origins

German33.5%22.9%12.5%

Irish12.7%13.5%9.4%

Norwegian12.2%7.5%—

English10.5%13.1%9.5%

American7.9%5.4%5.3%

Italian2.8%3.2%4.8%

French1.3%—1.6%

Scottish1.1%2.6%1.3%

Mexican1.8%2.9%11.3%

Navajo0.2%——

Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.

Age and life stage

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Median age	44.2	40.8	39.1
Age 18–24	7.5%	9.1%	9.2%
Age 65 and older	22.9%	20.0%	17.2%

Household economy

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Median household income	$70,743	$72,509	$84,427
Poverty rate	9.9%	11.5%	12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)	23.4%	35.3%	35.6%

Housing and tenure

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Owner-occupied homes	75.2%	69.2%	65.2%
Renter-occupied homes	24.8%	30.8%	34.8%
Median home value	$202,900	$375,800	$332,700
Median gross rent (monthly)	$789	$1,081	$1,413
Renters paying 30%+ of income	28.5%	44.8%	51.1%
Vacant housing units	21.1%	13.2%	10.1%

Getting to work

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Mean commute	20.7 min	19.1 min	26.4 min
Commutes 60 minutes or more	8.2%	4.8%	8.6%
Drives alone to work	72.8%	71.1%	68.8%
Takes public transit	0.5%	0.6%	3.2%
Works from home	13.3%	12.5%	15.1%

Languages at home

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Speaks a non-English language at home	1.9%	4.2%	22.3%

Religious landscape

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Catholic	—	10.3%	18.6%
Evangelical Protestant	—	13.6%	16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted	—	65.3%	51.5%

Origins and service

Measure	MT SD 17	Montana	United States
Foreign-born residents	1.6%	2.3%	14.1%
Naturalized citizens	1.0%	1.2%	7.4%
Not U.S. citizens	0.6%	1.1%	6.8%
Veterans (18+)	6.4%	9.0%	6.2%
Income inequality (Gini)	0.438	0.465	0.483

American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations · American Community Survey 2024 — housing and tenure (B25003, B25002, B25077, B25064, B25070), commuting (B08013, B08303, B08301), origins and service (B05002, B21001, B19083).

President results by year

Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries

HarrisDemocratic14.6%1,742TrumpRepublican83.1%9,938OtherAll other candidates2.4%285

R+68.5

Lead: 8,196
Total: 11,965
vs nation: R+67.0

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

BidenDemocratic15.4%1,928TrumpRepublican82.7%10,352OtherAll other candidates2.0%245

R+67.3

Lead: 8,424
Total: 12,525
vs nation: R+71.7

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ClintonDemocratic14.1%1,624TrumpRepublican80.4%9,256OtherAll other candidates5.5%636

R+66.3

Lead: 7,632
Total: 11,516
vs nation: R+68.4

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic22.1%2,508RomneyRepublican74.6%8,479OtherAll other candidates3.3%380

R+52.5

Lead: 5,971
Total: 11,367
vs nation: R+56.4

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic28.3%3,238McCainRepublican67.4%7,705OtherAll other candidates4.2%484

R+39.1

Lead: 4,467
Total: 11,427
vs nation: R+46.4

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

KerryDemocratic25.8%2,972BushRepublican72.2%8,311OtherAll other candidates2.0%235

R+46.4

Lead: 5,339
Total: 11,518
vs nation: R+43.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

GoreDemocratic23.7%2,592BushRepublican72.2%7,908OtherAll other candidates4.2%457

R+48.5

Lead: 5,316
Total: 10,957
vs nation: R+49.0

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ClintonDemocratic33.1%3,963DoleRepublican49.1%5,873OtherAll other candidates17.7%2,119

R+16.0

Lead: 1,910
Total: 11,955
vs nation: R+24.5

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+68.5MIT Election Lab
Population: 21,7712024 5-year
Population density: 1.1 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
Land area: 19,503 sq miTIGER/Line
Median household income: $70,7432024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 91.0%2024 5-year
Black: 0.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 2.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+31.8 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+68.5 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Most similar: State Senate District 15, MT · twin score 93.7

presidential history

Party record book

Montana 17th State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.

1892–2024 · 34 presidential cycles

Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.

Democratic

Franklin D. Roosevelt1936

64.9%

8,535 votes · D+31.8 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 · 57.1%

Republican

Donald Trump2024

83.1%

9,938 votes · R+68.5 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 82.7%

Most votes

Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.

Democratic

Franklin D. Roosevelt1936

8,535votes

64.9% of the vote · D+31.8 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 · 7,709 votes

Republican

Donald Trump2020

10,352votes

82.7% of the vote · R+67.3 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 9,956 votes

Best relative to the U.S.

This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.

Democratic

Woodrow Wilson1916

+11.1pts D vs U.S.

Place D+14.2 · U.S. D+3.1 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 · +7.5 pts

Republican

Donald Trump2020

+71.7pts R vs U.S.

Place R+67.3 · U.S. D+4.5 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2016 · +68.4 pts

current representation

Current officeholders

RBob PhalenState Senate · 17

State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.

U.S. House elections · 3 House

Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.

U.S. House

Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.

Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year	Vote lead	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	15.4%1,731	84.6%9,479	11,210
2020	R	20.1%2,399	79.9%9,557	11,956
2018	R	23.5%2,327	76.5%7,571	9,898

Montana 17th State Senate District sits in the Northern Rockies. In 2024 it voted Republican.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 31.8 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 68.5 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 1.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 68.5 points.

A population of 21,771, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,743 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 15 and State Senate District 19.

Political twins — state-senate districts

The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.

State Senate District 15

2012–2024 trajectory≠ % Evangelical

State Senate District 19

2012–2024 trajectory≠ % unaffiliated

State Senate District 16

2016–2024 trajectoryelasticity≠ Norwegian ancestry

Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons → · Or open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report →

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Montana 17th State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/30017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Montana at the ballot boxAll elections →

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Places within Montana 17th State Senate District

counties it covers9

Carter County Custer County Dawson County Fallon County McCone County Powder River County Prairie County Richland County Wibaux County

Frequently asked questions

How did Montana 17th State Senate District vote in 2024?

In 2024, Montana 17th State Senate District voted Republican by 68.5 points (R+68.5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,965 votes cast, 1,742 went Democratic and 9,938 went Republican.

When did Montana 17th State Senate District last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Montana 17th State Senate District voted Democratic was 1964.

How many people live in Montana 17th State Senate District?

Montana 17th State Senate District has a population of 21,771 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Montana 17th State Senate District?

Median household income in Montana 17th State Senate District is $70,743 — below the national median of $80,734. The Montana state median is $72,509.

What is the political history of Montana 17th State Senate District?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Montana 17th State Senate District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.