A reader points out that there are nineteen Obama field offices in Montana.
While I'm sure Howard Dean deserves some credit, the assertion that Montana doesn't have a large Obama for America operation might bear some more looking into. There are 19 Obama offices in the state (which has about a million residents and only 3 electoral votes.) I'm sure the gubernatorial race, in which the wildly popular Democrat Brian Schweitzer will almost certainly be re-elected, is also having some effect on the top of the ticket. Republicans also don't have a serious challenger to Senator Max Baucus, having nominated Bob Kelleher who is running on the single issue of transforming the United States government into a parliamentary system. The cherry on top would be the presence of Ron Paul on the presidential ballot, who was nominated by the state's Constitution Party. Montana went for Romney in the primary, and Paul came in a close second with around 25 percent of the vote, one of his best showings anywhere. Montana is many things, but McCain country it ain't.
The fact that Obama has a chance in Montana (if, in fact, he does) is a combination of commitment and effort on the part of his campaign, a strong Democratic ticket up and down the ballot, and a severe lack of reasons for Montana Republicans to get excited about this election.
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