Tuesday marks the publication of “Big Sky Politics: Campaigns and Elections in Modern Montana 1945 to 2025.” The book — penned by author Jon Bennion and the first to be published by Montana Free Press — is now on sale at local retailers and through Mountain Press. A limited number of signed copies is available from Montana Free Press.
“Big Sky Politics” is the second edition — revised, expanded and updated — of Bennion’s history of Montana campaigns and elections first published in 2004. Bennion was born and raised in Billings and holds a B.A. in political science and a law degree from the University of Montana. He has worked as Head of Government Relations for the Montana Chamber of Commerce, was appointed to the five-member Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission from 2009 to 2013, served as Deputy Attorney General under Attorney General Tim Fox, and is currently the executive director of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation. Bennion lives in Clancy with his wife, Montana State University political science professor Jessi Bennion, and their son, Jack.
In his introduction to the new edition, Bennion writes, “I hope this updated edition of ‘Big Sky Politics’ will be an even greater resource to Montanans who take an interest in the state’s politics. Montana’s political history has always been worthy of close attention that avoids flippant or inaccurate oversimplification of what it means to be a Montana voter. Some of the state’s distinctive traits may show signs of dulling with the encroaching nationalization of American politics and an ongoing influx of new residents, but I’m not convinced that Montana has become just a photocopy of its geographic neighbors.”
“Big Sky Politics” is organized into six election eras, and includes candidate biographies and analyses of the major races of each election year. Election coverage includes Montana-specific context for presidential races and detailed histories of contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and Montana Supreme Court, plus results data on key statewide and regional races, partisan balance in the state Legislature and voter turnout. “Big Sky Politics” is illustrated with 80 years of historic campaign ephemera including campaign buttons, advertisements and other materials.
Montana Free Press founder and Executive Director John S. Adams writes in the foreword to the new edition, “My old dog-eared old copy of the first edition of ‘Big Sky Politics’ still sits on the bookshelf in my office. I keep it because it helped me report with authority early in my career, and because it helped me better understand the state I’ve made home. This second edition belongs on the desks of campaign managers, in newsrooms, in libraries, in classrooms, and on the bookshelves of anyone who cares about how Montanans choose their representatives and leaders.”
Jon Bennion will introduce and discuss the book with John S. Adams from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, at Montana Book Company in Helena.
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