Montana District 1

MT-01 • 2026 Election
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Primary

Primary held June 2, 2026.

Democratic Primary

CandidateVotes%
Sam Forstag 26,276 37.3%
Ryan Busse 23,196 33.1%
Russell Cleveland 15,238 21.7%
Matt Rains 5,518 7.9%

Libertarian Primary

CandidateVotes%
Nick Sheedy 1,202 100.0%

Republican Primary

CandidateVotes%
Aaron Flint 41,170 50.1%
Christi Jacobsen 18,877 23.0%
Al Olszewski 16,686 20.3%
Ray Curtis 5,479 6.7%

Full calendar and every race: Montana primary guide

Race Overview

Incumbent
OPEN (Ryan Zinke)
Party
Republican
Current Rating
Lean R our polls experts: Likely R
Open Seat
Yes
Cook PVI
R+7

PollingSource Rating

Lean R
Our polling average R+3.0 · 3 polls

General Election Polling Trend

PollingSource average — trailing average of all polls from the last 90 days.

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Expert Ratings

Consensus Rating

Likely R

Individual forecaster ratings will be updated as they become available.

Candidates

Sam Forstag Nominee

Democrat
Total Raised: $1,382,873
Cash on Hand: $550,079

Nick Sheedy Nominee

Libertarian

Aaron Flint Nominee

Republican
Total Raised: $1,303,394
Cash on Hand: $502,201

General Election Polling Average

Democrat
43.3%
Republican
46.3%
Margin
R+3.0
Last Poll
Jun 25, 2026

Average reflects all polls from the last 90 days; table shows the most recent 30 days or the newest 3 polls, whichever is more — subscribe for the full history. How accurate is each pollster? →

PollsterDateSampleMoEDemRep
Impact Research (D) partisan·D 2026-06-25 500 LV ±4.40 Sam Forstag 44.00% Aaron Flint 44.00%
Upswing Research (D) partisan·D 2026-05-05 401 LV ±4.90 Matt Rains 43.00% Aaron Flint 47.00%
Upswing Research (D) partisan·D 2026-05-05 401 LV ±4.90 Sam Forstag 43.00% Aaron Flint 48.00%

Questions About This Race

Who is winning the 2026 MT-01 House race?

Aaron Flint leads Sam Forstag 46.3% to 43.3% in the PollingSource polling average — a R+3.0 margin based on 3 polls from the last 90 days.

Is the 2026 MT-01 House race competitive?

Yes — the PollingSource polling average rates it Lean R: Republicans are favored, but the race is competitive.

What does the latest poll of the 2026 MT-01 House race say?

The most recent public poll, from Impact Research (D) (completed June 25, 2026), found Sam Forstag (D) at 44% and Aaron Flint (R) at 44%.

When is the 2026 MT-01 House race decided?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

How is the PollingSource average calculated?

The PollingSource average is the unweighted mean of every scientific public poll of the race from the last 90 days — we do not exclude pollsters. Each race page lists the individual polls behind the average with pollster, field dates, sample size, and margin of error. Full details: pollingsource.com/methodology.

Independent Expenditures Updated 8 hours ago

$1,507,931
Total IE Spending
$1,507,931
Support
$0
Oppose

Top Spenders

Full outside-spending research — every committee, every race →

Race News

No news coverage yet for this race.