Ryan K. Zinke
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC H4MT01041
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
2026 race
MT-01 — U.S. House
3 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Ryan K. Zinke.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Democratic primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by AP
Sam ForstagWon37.4%
- DRyan BusseDefeated33.0%
- DRussell Tyler ClevelandDefeated21.7%
- DMatthew RainsDefeated7.9%
Republican primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Aaron FlintWon50.0%
- RChristi JacobsenDefeated23.0%
- RAlbert OlszewskiDefeated20.0%
Currently held by
Ryan K. Zinke (R) — not seeking re-election in 2026. They've publicly announced their retirement; their committee is still on the FEC's 2026 roster for routine compliance, but this is effectively an open seat.
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Montana Secretary of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$11M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Sam Forstag
DChallengerFEC H6MT01137
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Raised this cycle$4.3M
Cash on hand: $726K
Aaron Flint
RChallengerFEC H6MT01152
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Raised this cycle$2.9M
Cash on hand: $408K
Nick Sheedy
IChallengerNo FEC filing
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
5 defeated candidates — show
Ryan Busse
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6MT01145
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Raised this cycle$790K
Cash on hand: $2K
Christi Jacobsen
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6MT01160
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Raised this cycle$553K
Cash on hand: $0
Russell Tyler Cleveland
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6MT01103
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Raised this cycle$458K
Cash on hand: $0
Albert Olszewski
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H2MT02084
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Raised this cycle$427K
Cash on hand: $0
Matthew Rains
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H0MT00116
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Raised this cycle$273K
Cash on hand: $34K
Local signal
Early read on MT-01 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Sam Forstagleans negative
0 pos6 neutral1 neg7 articles
Aaron Flintmixed
0 pos3 neutral0 neg3 articles
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$11M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$9.7M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$1.8M
$1.7M for · $118K against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sam Forstag(D) + PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $342K + VOTEVETS $68K + FIELD TEAM 6, INC. $950 | $4.3M | $411K | — | $4.7M |
Aaron Flint(R) + AMERICAN MISSION $590K + LEADERSHIP IN ACTION $264K + MAKE MONTANA GREAT $228K − VOTEVETS $68K − END CITIZENS UNITED $50K | $2.9M | $1.2M | $118K | $3.9M |
Nick Sheedy(L) | $0 | — | — | $0 |
6 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ryan Busse(D)defeated + SAVE AMERICA FUND $71K | $790K | $71K | — | $861K |
Christi Jacobsen(R)defeated + MONTANA WAY $15K | $553K | $15K | — | $568K |
Russell Tyler Cleveland(D)defeated | $458K | — | — | $458K |
Albert Olszewski(R)defeated | $427K | — | — | $427K |
Matthew Rains(D)defeated | $273K | — | — | $273K |
Ryan K. Zinke(R)incumbentdefeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside MT versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Sam Forstag(D)28% in-state · $742K itemized
$210K in-state$532K out-of-state
Aaron Flint(R)49% in-state · $705K itemized
$347K in-state$358K out-of-state
5 defeated candidates — show
Ryan Busse(D)defeated52% in-state · $430K itemized
$225K in-state$205K out-of-state
Christi Jacobsen(R)defeated56% in-state · $222K itemized
$124K in-state$98K out-of-state
Russell Tyler Cleveland(D)defeated79% in-state · $247K itemized
$194K in-state$53K out-of-state
Albert Olszewski(R)defeated76% in-state · $217K itemized
$166K in-state$51K out-of-state
Matthew Rains(D)defeated38% in-state · $167K itemized
$64K in-state$103K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Forstag | Flint | Sheedy | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | |||
Economy Tariffs on foreign goods should be used to protect American jobs. | — | |||
Environment The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions. | — | |||
Environment Government environmental reviews for energy and infrastructure projects should move faster, even if it means fewer reviews. | — | |||
Environment A federal carbon tax (with revenue rebated or reinvested in clean energy) should be enacted. | — | |||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | |||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | |||
Healthcare A government-run public health insurance option should be added to the ACA marketplace. | — | |||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | |||
Housing Cities should have to ease their zoning rules to qualify for federal infrastructure money. | — | |||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — | |||
Taxes People making over $400,000 a year should pay higher taxes. | — | |||
Taxes The estate tax (the "death tax") should be eliminated. | — | |||
Trade Federal procurement should give strong preference to U.S.-made goods, even at higher cost. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Sam Forstag
- Democrats prairie populism montana sam forstagNPROct 20
- Trump holds rally, defends jet gift | Arkansas Democrat GazetteArkansas Democrat-GazetteOct 16
- Trump defends gifted Air Force One from Qatar and makes 2nd Amendment pitch as he campaigns for GOPAnchorage Daily NewsOct 15
- PACs pour tens of millions into Alaska’s congressional races, with Senate race dominating spendingAnchorage Daily NewsOct 2
Aaron Flint
- Democrats prairie populism montana sam forstagNPROct 20
- Trump holds rally, defends jet gift | Arkansas Democrat GazetteArkansas Democrat-GazetteOct 16
- Trump defends gifted Air Force One from Qatar and makes 2nd Amendment pitch as he campaigns for GOPAnchorage Daily NewsOct 15
- Montana Dem running as blue-collar smokejumper spent years lobbying for far-left groupsFox NewsJul 15
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.