Editing Deer Lodge County, Montana (section)

==Government and politics==
Along with neighboring [[Silver Bow County, Montana|Silver Bow]] county, Anaconda-Deer Lodge has been a [[consolidated city-county]] since 1977, the only two in Montana.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kidwell |first=Kayleen |date=2022 |title=Deer Lodge County |url=https://www.montana.edu/extension/aboutus/documents/2022programhighlights/Deer%20Lodge%202022.pdf |website=Montana State University}}</ref> The incumbent [[Chief executive (head of government)|chief executive officer]] of Anaconda-Deer Lodge is Bill Everett, who was elected in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chief Executive Officer {{!}} Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, MT |url=https://www.adlc.us/155/Chief-Executive-Officer |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.adlc.us}}</ref> 

Deer Lodge County is the most consistently Democratic county in Montana when it comes to presidential elections. It has not supported a Republican candidate since [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1924.<ref>[http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1924.htm Geographie Electorale]</ref> In 2016, [[Hillary Clinton]] failed to garner a majority of the votes, becoming the first Democrat not to obtain a majority since 1924.<ref>[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Montana)]</ref> In 2020, the county once again gave the Democratic candidate ([[Joe Biden]]) the majority, when he won 52% of the vote. However, in 2024, [[Kamala Harris]] carried the county by only 47 votes, or less than 1%, winning a plurality of 48.79%. This was an even narrower edge than in 2016; [[Donald Trump]]'s performance in this election was the best by a Republican in the county since 1956. In gubernatorial elections the most recent Republican to carry the county was [[Marc Racicot]] in the 1996 election. In that election the original Democratic nominee, [[Chet Blaylock]], died and Marc Racicot carried every county.<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=30&f=1&off=5&elect=0 David Leip's Election Atlas]</ref>

Deer Lodge County is currently in the 39th district of the [[Montana Senate]] along with [[Granite County, Montana|Granite County]] and portions of [[Powell County, Montana|Powell]] and [[Silver Bow County, Montana|Silver Bow]] counties. It has been represented by Republican [[Terry Vermeire]] since 2023, having flipped the traditionally Democratic seat by a 752 vote margin. Vermeire defeated Democrat [[Jesse Mullen]], executive of the [[Mullen Newspaper Company]] from [[Deer Lodge, Montana|Deer Lodge (city)]] in the 2022 special election.<ref name="2022 LegGen">{{Cite web |title=2022 General State Canvas Report Legislative (Montana) |url=https://sosmt.gov/docs/769/results/49084/2022general-statecanvassreport-legislative |access-date=June 25, 2023 |publisher=Montana Secretary of State}}</ref> Jessica Wicks, Democratic incumbent appointed to fulfill [[Mark Sweeney (politician)|Mark Sweeney]]'s term following his May 2022 death, did not win appointment from the local Democratic Party to be their November nominee.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Mike |date=June 21, 2022 |title=Wicks tapped to fill vacant Sweeney Senate seat; Mullen to be Democrat nominee in fall |url=https://mtstandard.com/news/local/wicks-tapped-to-fill-vacant-sweeney-senate-seat-mullen-to-be-democrat-nominee-in-fall/article_f23605b8-e243-5eff-9f5e-297aca29ec37.html |publisher=[[Montana Standard]]}}</ref>

In the [[Montana House of Representatives]], most of the county is in the 77th district and has been represented by Republican [[John Fitzpatrick (American politician)|John Fitzpatrick]] since 2023, who won an upset against incumbent Democrat [[Sara Novak]] by a margin of 47. This marks the first time since 1945 that Anaconda has been represented by a Republican in the state House of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1944 Montana Legislative Assembly Elected Members |url=https://sosmt.gov/Portals/142/Elections/archives/1940s/1944_Legislative_Assembly.pdf?dt=1523477333219 |access-date=June 25, 2023 |publisher=Montana Secretary of State}}</ref> Part of the county is also in the 78th district, represented by Republican [[Gregory Frazer]].<ref name="2022 LegGen" />

From 2024 to 2033, Deer Lodge County will be in House District 71 (along with [[Walkerville, Montana|Walkerville]]) and Senate District 36 (along with Walkerville and part of [[Butte, Montana|Butte]]). These districts are expected to be more Democratic than the current districts used since 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2023 |title=Montana Legislative Districts for Elections 2024-2032 |url=https://mtredistricting.gov/state-legislative-maps-proposed-by-the-commission/ |publisher=Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission}}</ref>

{{PresHead|place=Deer Lodge County, Montana|source=<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leip |first=David |title=Atlas of US Presidential Elections |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS |access-date=April 2, 2018 |website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|2,329|2,376|165|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|2,186|2,562|143|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|1,763|2,058|385|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|1,448|2,860|152|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|1,502|3,402|170|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,725|2,700|118|Montana}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|1,493|2,672|369|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|883|3,331|796|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|832|3,174|1,263|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,168|3,185|53|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|1,901|3,539|65|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,905|3,077|656|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,197|3,859|120|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1972|Democratic|2,373|3,979|252|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|1,554|4,208|312|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,415|4,835|9|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|2,188|5,149|7|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|3,551|3,792|0|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|3,001|4,162|54|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|2,036|3,862|314|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|2,176|4,347|33|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|2,397|4,916|32|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,640|4,813|96|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|2,198|3,893|113|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|2,695|3,184|22|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,937|1,611|1,919|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|3,130|1,567|522|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,860|4,171|112|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|1,060|1,197|603|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|1,377|1,611|165|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,666|1,504|255|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|1,636|3,395|162|Montana}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|446|4,916|8|Montana}}
{{PresFoot|1892|Democratic|1,930|2,152|1,359|Montana}}