HELENA -- Democrats were gleeful and Republicans gloomy in the wake of Tuesday's election that saw the GOP lose control of the governor's office and at least one house of the Legislature after a decade of political dominance.

Democrats chalked up their gains to finding the pulse of Montana voters with talk of hands-across-the-aisle cooperation. They promised their newfound power would not be used as a tool against the other party.

Republicans blamed loss of the Senate to political chicanery by Democrats in redrawing legislative districts following the 2000 census.

But when it came to Democrats winning the governor's chair for the first time in 16 years, no excuse was warranted. Brian Schweitzer simply outplayed Bob Brown.

Schweitzer, scoring his first victory in just two races, campaigned longer and raised money at a more furious pace than the Republican secretary of state. He began running almost the day after he lost the 2000 U.S. Senate race to GOP incumbent Conrad Burns in a surprisingly strong showing.

When he began his gubernatorial bid in earnest last year, he turned fund-raising into an art form and collected so much money that potential Democratic challengers were scared off until it was too late to stop his $1.4 million juggernaut.

''Schweitzer had built a base out there with several thousand donors that was just insurmountable," said Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville.

House Majority Leader Roy Brown, R-Billings, credited Schweitzer's win to his decision to choose a Republican running mate. That robbed votes from Brown, he believes.

''Moderate Republicans and independents felt that it was a good idea to have a Republican and Democrat running together," Brown said.

Craig Wilson, head of the political science department at Montana State University-Billings, said Schweitzer was the right candidate at the right time for his party.

''Democrats came up with an ebullient, centrist candidate," he said. ''He won where he needed to win."

Schweitzer topped Brown in only 17 of the 56 counties, but the list included the cream of the crop with the largest pockets of voters. In the end, Schweitzer won by about 18,500 votes, a four-point spread.

Wilson said Schweitzer's timing was right because voters were ready to switch. ''Just sometimes there are built-in political clocks and people say enough is enough," he said.

Some theories suggest radio and TV ads assailing Schweitzer created a backlash against Brown by voters, or that Brown sharing the same party as unpopular departing Gov. Judy Martz cost him support.

The 2005 Legislature will mark the first time since 1995 that Republicans have not held majorities in both houses.

Senate Democrats, a 29-21 minority in 2003, will have a 27-23 advantage when the legislative session begins in January. In the House, Democrats closed a 53-47 gap to 50-49, with the fate of one seat still uncertain. A Democratic win in that race would create a 50-50 tie.

GOP leaders are not surprised by the legislative turn of events. They had chanted for more than two years that a Democratic-controlled commission gerrymandered the state in drawing new legislative boundaries to reflect population changes.

''I'm depressed and saddened because I don't believe you should cheat to win," said Thomas. ''Montanans have been cheated by some people who cannot win at the ballot box."

Hogwash, says Montana Democratic Party Chairman Bob Ream.

Reapportionment had no impact at all, he insisted. ''Our redistricting plan truly created more equally balanced districts between Democrats and Republicans."

Democrats say their message of wanting to head off partisan warfare in the Legislature simply resonated better with voters this time. ''We've been giving a positive message that it was time for a change," Ream said.

Regardless of why legislative power has shifted, Republicans will have to learn to bargain with Democrats for the first time. No GOP legislator has served in a session when the opposing party had any muscle in the executive or legislative branches.

''It will be a problem for some Republicans to adjust to dealing with Democrats," Ream said. ''It's a question of whether they want to be arrogant or work together."

On the other hand, Democrats' new political power also means they will have to get used to shouldering some of the responsibility for the Legislature's track record.

For now, this is too early to tell if the 2004 election marks the beginning of an era of Democratic resurgence or merely a political oddity.

''You always need a couple of elections to know if this is the start of a trend," Wilson said. ''But the Democratic victories have to give Republicans some pause."