The Full Record

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 ↗

Also on the ballot for this seat: Aaron Flint, Nick Sheedy · Compare side by side

Sources cited in this profile

  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