About Montana Insights
As part of Montana Free Press’ mission to provide data-driven news and information, we’ve launched an initiative designed to identify Montana citizens’ views on a variety of topics and report on the issues they tell us are most important to the people of our state.
Montana Insights centers on a public interest study commissioned by Montana Free Press and conducted by Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling.
Detailed poll results can be downloaded as a spreadsheet here.
Montana Insights – in the news
Poll: Cost-of-living important factor for 80% of Montana registered voters
Poll: Nearly 75% of Montana registered voters oppose new data centers
Poll: Men, Republicans and older Montanans more likely to support ICE
Poll: Rep. Troy Downing ahead in Eastern U.S. House District
Flint, Forstag in dead heat for House seat
Alme holds an 8-point lead over Bodnar in Senate race
Montanans weigh in on Trump, Iran, affordability and congressional candidates
U.S. Montana Rep. Troy Downing at 34% approval in his deep-red district
Poll finds Jacobsen, Busse most favorable in Montana’s Western District primaries
About this project
Montana Insights is a collaboration of Montana Free Press and Rutgers University’s Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling to survey Montanans about their state government. Montana Insights aims to equip everyday Montanans and those who influence public policy with information that will help them better understand the political landscape of our state.
Methodology
Montana Insights is an ongoing public opinion polling project conducted by Montana Free Press in partnership with the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University. Surveys are conducted using a mix of telephone interviews and text-to-web responses to reach a broad cross-section of Montana registered voters.
The summer 2026 Montana Insights Poll surveyed registered voters in Montana who were invited by text message to complete an online survey. Data was collected from Aug. 27, 2026, to Sept. 7, 2026. Participants were recruited using a probability-based method, meaning they were randomly drawn from the state’s registered voter file so every voter had a known chance of being invited. The results were weighted during analysis to reflect the demographics of Montana’s registered voters. The survey’s overall margin of error is +/- 4.2%. The margin of error for Eastern District voters is 5.8%. The margin of error for Western District voters is 6.0%.
A full methodology statement is available here.
Learn about our previous polling
Arthur M. Blank Foundation
Funding for Montana Insights came through the support of a grant from Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.