Can moderates survive state politics? In Montana, they may be going extinct

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/21/ [login to see] /moderates-republicans-gop-democrats-parties-montana-extreme-politics
At just 21 years old, Mallerie Stromswold had burned out from public service during her sophomore term in the Montana legislature.

She says it boiled down to a few things — the high cost of housing and juggling school and work. But most of all, she felt a decline in her mental well-being.

"When you're struggling with that, and then decide to throw on the challenges of serving," it becomes a lot, the young Republican says, "especially the way I chose to serve."

Stromswold voted against her fellow Republicans' efforts to limit the rights of transgender Montanans and for a Democrat's bill aiming to protect the rights of minors. Her style of serving, she says, "was not aligned with how those around me would have preferred me to at times."

It all became too much and Stromswold announced her resignation earlier this year. "I'm big on principles more than anything. If you're going to say, 'it's my body, my choice, it's my body, my choice, it's my body, choice with everything,' " she says.