Hollandsworth, Lang easily win in GOP districts

Two Republican lawmakers from rural parts of the Hi-Line easily won re-election Tuesday, swamping their Democratic rivals.

State Rep. Mike Lang, R-Malta, handily defeated Mike Finley of North Havre 2,754 rto 893.

This will be Lang's fourth term in the House.

Lang easily carried all four counties in the district — Phillips, Valley, Blaine and a small portion of Hill County.

His submarine-shaped district includes half of the city of Glasgow and extends eastward to Wild Horse on the Canadian border in Hill County.

Roy Hollandsworth defeated his Democratic rival Rob Laas of Chester 2,847 to 1,112.

Hollandsworth, a Brady farmer, is a leader in the more moderate faction of the Republican party in Helena.

He voted with Democrats on a compromise budget plan, a school funding package and a bill to strike from the books an archaic law that outlawed homosexuality.

Conservatives mounted a challenge in the Republican primary, but Hollandworth easily prevailed.

This is Hollandsworth's fourth term in the House. Term limits prohibit him from running again in two years.

His sprawling district extends from the Canadian border south to the Great Falls city limits including areas dominated by sparsely populated cattle ranches and wheat farms.