Shaylee Ragar

More than 30 states have state supreme court elections this November. Those justices may be the final word on abortion laws in some places now that it's an issue for states to decide.

Montana, a state that's voted for a Democrat for president twice in the last 70 years, has a unique characteristic for a red state — broad access to abortion. But this year, things are changing.

Delaying session or meeting remotely aren't options that have necessarily appealed to Republican state lawmakers who, for the most part, aren't shy about gathering in large numbers in 2021.

Democratic governors in Montana have kept the Republican-led legislature from passing the most conservative agenda items. With a Republican at the helm in 2021, the GOP won't have the same roadblocks.

Trump carried Montana by 20 points in 2016. But the state is full of split-ticket voters and has had a Democratic governor for 16 years. This year the seat is open, and the race is close.

The races for governor in Missouri and North Carolina may tell us if the coronavirus can make or break a state leader. Meanwhile, political strategy in Montana has tempered talk of COVID-19.