MT-02 · U.S. House
Open this race on The Map ↗Troy Downing is almost certain to hold Montana’s 2nd congressional district. Predicted margin: R+22.1.
Show all others (2)
Michael D Eisenhauer · Patrick McCracken
Other is a combined forecast; individual estimates are not published.
Ballot eligibility alone supplies no quantitative estimate. Other is a collective share, not any named candidate’s forecast. Official ballot sources: Michael D Eisenhauer (checked 2026-08-31); Patrick McCracken (checked 2026-08-31).
high / low: vote share (%) in the middle 80 in 100 simulations · * incumbent
Forecast history
Latest reading · Oct 4 · first published Sep 9 · 80% range · margin points R+29.4 to R+14.8. Methodology
Hover the line, tap it, or use the arrow keys to inspect its history.
About this series
This comparable series begins on September 9, 2026, when the model version changed to CTMM 2.2. Earlier readings remain in the archive and are not joined as voter movement; faded points before September 9, 2026 are reconstructions, not forecasts issued on those days.
Faded: CTMM 2.2 reconstructed history: computed after the fact with each date's available polls and environment, without expert ratings; not an issued forecast. Issued forecasts begin at the launch marker.
CTMM 2.2 readings for 2026-09-16, 2026-09-17, 2026-09-18 were computed after the fact with each day's available inputs: no edition was issued on those days. Not an issued forecast.
The polls
Poll average R+22.0A poll’s weight halves every 60 days and grows with its sample, up to one and a half times a 600-interview poll. Each pollster counts once, at its best release. A poll sponsored by a party or campaign counts at full weight, and its margin is moved 2 points against the party that paid for it. Margins are otherwise read as published.1 recorded poll · 1 in the poll average
| Fieldwork | Added | Pollster | Result | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| from 2026-08-27 | Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics ↗ | R+22.0D 26% · R 48% | 470 RV |
How the margin was built
Follow each contribution to the margin. Wider ribbons mean more percentage points. Tap an input for its calculation and source.
The signed totals combine at the forecast. Displayed values are rounded.
All calculations & sources
This district's measured terrain −30.732 points
Call the Map's partisan lean on the CURRENT district lines, before any current-cycle evidence. Every pull below is measured from here — not from EVEN.
- Call the Map partisan lean, district geography bound to this forecast edition.
- Prior source: observed_unchanged_lines.
Fitted model, above the terrain shown +6.825 points
What the fitted model adds on top of the starting terrain above — incumbency, past results, campaign finance and the other fitted terms — measured from that terrain rather than from EVEN. It is a comparison with the starting point already shown, not a separate input. The source detail lists the variables the fit uses.
- Fitted baseline -23.907 minus starting point -30.732 = 6.825 points.
- One fitted structural total; this edition does not split it into partisan lean and incumbency.
- Fundamentals: −23.9 — the district's structural lean before this year's polling, money and candidate quality are added.
- This edition publishes that as one fitted total. It does not break it into a partisan-lean and an incumbency term, so this page does not invent that split.
- fundamentals core = 25-term dynamic formula (mass fit over the master feature matrix, held-out-cycle validated; see matrix/feature_dictionary.md + mass_fit_report.json)
- 40-term formula, held-out validated.
National environment +1.657 points
The contribution to this race’s margin, not the national polling margin itself. The race’s loading, reference level and polling blend determine how much of the national climate reaches its final forecast.
- Three-source blend, updated 2026-09-08: 51% generic-ballot aggregates (D+6.5) · 29% special-election overperformance (D+9.0 across 46 specials) · 19% approval-implied (D+8.6 from net approval -21.7).
- Latest polls — generic ballot 2026-09-08 (26 days old), approval 2026-09-10 (24 days old).
- Generic-ballot average D+6.5 · support factor 0.80 (the share of that channel's capacity the admitted polls carry) — separate inputs; their product is a capacity diagnostic, not a margin.
- Weights are the 55/25/20 capacities scaled by each channel's evidence and renormalized, so thin polling widens the interval instead of pulling the center toward zero — 19% of the weight is carried that way.
- Blended national environment: D+7.6.
- Applied at full strength to this chamber's races.
- The work: national environment × 1 chamber strength = +1.7 of this margin.
- Blended national environment: D+7.6 (updated 2026-09-08).
- Effective poll weight 81%; fundamentals share 19%, carried by the interval (×1.09) rather than by the center.
- The support factor is the share of the generic-ballot capacity the admitted polls carry; average × support is a capacity diagnostic, not a margin, and is not what the row above multiplies.
- Applied at full strength to this chamber: +1.7 of this margin.
This race’s polls +0.112 points
What this race’s own recent polling adds beyond its prior, after each poll is weighted for recency, sample size and pollster quality.
- Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics (2026-09-07, n=470): R+22.0 · weight 0.65 in the poll average
- Poll average R+22.0, from 1 poll · 1 recorded poll. This is the forecast’s own average, the figure this page’s poll summary shows. The forecast gives the polls 45% of the weight against its structural prior for this race; the recorded polling contribution is +0.1 D. Eligible polls: latest poll: 2026-09-07 (27 days old).
The components this edition publishes for this race, in points. “Other factors” closes the sum to the two-party structural lean exactly. Here the structural lean IS the published margin, so the walk sums to the projection exactly; nothing is left over.
| Named factor | Contribution |
|---|---|
| FundamentalsThe admitted fitted baseline. Its surviving variables differ by office; the source detail above identifies those used for this race. | −23.91 |
| National environmentThe national environment’s contribution to the prior. Polling can attenuate its influence; this value is not the national polling margin. | +1.66 |
| This race's pollsAdmitted head-to-head polls of this race, recency- and quality-weighted. | +0.11 |
| Other factors | 0.00 |
Recent elections
| Election | Result | Votes cast |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 · U.S. House ↗ | R+32.0 | 275,545 |
| 2022 · U.S. House ↗ | R+47.4 | 215,672 |
| 1990 · U.S. House ↗ | R+25.9 | 153,188 |
| 1988 · U.S. House ↗ | R+11.0 | 175,534 |
Historical district boundaries may differ. Margins compare Democratic and Republican vote totals. Nonstandard ballots are labeled separately.
The money
Troy Downing ↗
R$2.1Mraised
$650K cash on handFiling through 06/30/2026
Michael D Eisenhauer ↗
I$296Kraised
$140K cash on handFiling through 06/30/2026
Brian Miller ↗
D$19Kraised
$3K cash on handFiling through 06/30/2026
Bar length compares reported receipts in this race; the tick marks cash on hand. A missing filing stays blank rather than becoming $0.
One more fundraising reportCall the Map · $105.00
The candidates are comfortably out-fundraising the website covering them. A little rude, perhaps, but statistically unsurprising.
- Received so far
- $105.00
- Measured compute
- $26,188.58
Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee supports are counted as each one arrives. Measured compute prices model runs at standard published API rates; it is not what I paid. Hosting, data and subscriptions, the domain and my own time are not counted. Donations buy gratitude, never a forecast adjustment.
Supporters are listed by first name and last initial. Want your full name shown? Say so in your message. Give privately, or leave the name blank, and you are counted without a name.
Thank you to Tom H. and ColoradoFlyer.
No filing matched: Patrick McCracken.
No outside spending matched: Troy Downing, Michael D Eisenhauer, Brian Miller.
FEC filings · through 06/30/2026 · Definitions & method
Race context
- Forecast votes cast
- 214,776
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+30.5
Population profile Select a measure for its source and denominator
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates ↗
Forecast as of October 4, 2026: Call the Map currently has Troy Downing ahead of Brian Miller by R+22.1, with a 99 in 100 chance to win. The seat is currently held by a Republican. That result would keep the seat with Republicans. The current poll average is R+22.0; 1 public poll is recorded.