Pat Williams, a New Deal-style Democrat who won Montana's great liberal-conservative showdown of 1992 to become the state's lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, has died.

But the 2020 census deadline remains in flux, making it uncertain if census takers will finish counting the vast, rural state. But the 2020 census deadline remains in flux, making it uncertain if census takers will finish counting the vast, rural state. Experts say a second House seat is a prize the state can scarcely afford to lose. In an August report, the bureau stated it needed 2,000 census takers, also called enumerators, to complete Montana's count. An extension would give Montana's enumerators a chance to overcome these challenges, getting closer to the coveted second House seat.