Democrats believe health care is an issue that resonates with a majority of Americans as they demand an extension of subsidies for their votes to reopen the shuttered U.S. government. But it is also one of the most intractable issues in Congress — and a real compromise is unlikely to be easy, or quick.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it can’t legally dole out SNAP funds in November during the government shutdown, despite previous assurances federal funding would continue. More than 77,000 Montanans would be affected by the delay, which is unprecedented in the food-assistance program's history.

Chris Sidmore, the executive director of the Flathead Food Bank, understands on a personal level what the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can offer to a family. “It’s kind of funny how life works,” Sidmore said. “Sometimes, I think back on things in the past, and it seems like another lifetime ago, but … when I was a teenager, I was raised by a single mom, and we used SNAP benefits. I just think, like, I was a kid. I had no control over that, but man, it made a huge difference. That’s really one of the things that allowed us to, you know, have some food on our plate, which was great.”
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Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains are both running to be the Democratic candidate in the district that the party sees as its best chance to win a federal race next year.

One month after pledging to fight for more of the state’s rural vote, Democrats have fielded not one but two western House district candidates with ranch roots and military experience. Russell Cleveland, 40, of rural Stevensville, who has been a candidate since March, drew a challenger Thursday in Simms native Matt Rains. Both tout ranching family roots and Republican parents. Cleveland is a former aviation electrician in the U.S. Navy. Rains is a West Point graduate and Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Cleveland lives on a ranch property near St. Regis. Rains, 45, lives on a production livestock ranch near Simms, which isn’t in the western district. Members of the House don’t have to reside in the district they represent.
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