The Full Record

U.S. House · Montana's 1st District

Western Montana, including Missoula, Kalispell and Flathead County.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 20 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

On the ballot · 3 candidates

Aaron FlintR

Raised $1.3M · spent $801K · $502K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Sam ForstagD

Raised $1.4M · spent $833K · $550K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Nick SheedyLIB

The candidates, in full

Aaron Flint

R

Advanced from the Republican primary on June 2, 2026.

Aaron Flint is the Republican nominee for Montana's open 1st Congressional District seat. He is a radio talk show host who previously served as state director for Rep. Ryan Zinke and communications director for Gov. Greg Gianforte's 2016 campaign, and served in the U.S. Army National Guard and Reserves from 2002 to 2024.[1]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • "I have heard firsthand their frustrations with government and what they believe needs to change. That has given me a different perspective than most candidates. I am not guessing what people want; I have been listening to them for nearly two decades."[1]

Background

  • Worked as a radio talk show host.[1]
  • Served as state director for then-Rep. Ryan Zinke and as communications director for Gov. Greg Gianforte's 2016 gubernatorial campaign.[1]
  • Served in the U.S. Army National Guard and Reserves from 2002 to 2024.[1]

Campaign money

Raised $1.3M · spent $801K · $502K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Sam Forstag

D

Advanced from the Democratic primary on June 2, 2026 over Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains; named to the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program.

Sam Forstag is the Democratic nominee for Montana's open 1st Congressional District seat. He is a wildland-firefighting smokejumper, former lobbyist and legislative strategist, and former vice president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 60, running as a "working Montanan."[1][2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

  • Describes himself as "a smokejumper, union leader, and working Montanan running for Congress in MT-01."[2]
  • In his Candidate Connection survey, says he knows what it is like to worry about a parent working too much, to rely on food stamps, and to work multiple jobs while attending school and still fall short on rent.[1]

Background

  • Worked as a smokejumper, a wildland firefighter who parachutes into remote areas to fight fires.[1]
  • Worked as a lobbyist and legislative strategist.[1]
  • Served as vice president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) Local 60.[1]

Campaign money

Raised $1.4M · spent $833K · $550K cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Nick Sheedy

LIB

Advanced unopposed after the Libertarian primary was canceled.

Nick Sheedy is the Libertarian Party nominee for Montana's open 1st Congressional District seat.[3]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

Basic-tier research relying on Ballotpedia's race and candidate pages. Independent Kimberly Persico did not make the general-election ballot per Ballotpedia and is excluded.

Sources · 3

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

  1. 1.Sam Forstag · Ballotpedia Reference
  2. 2.Sam Forstag campaign website (quoted by Ballotpedia) · Ballotpedia / Forstag for Montana · 2026-07-25 Candidate's own words
  3. 3.Nick Sheedy · Ballotpedia Reference