Sam Forstag, a Democrat, labor union leader and former smokejumper, is his party's nominee for Montana's open 1st congressional district seat in 2026, facing Republican Aaron Flint and Libertarian Nick Sheedy.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Sam Forstag.
- Born
- May 23, 1994
- Birthplace
- Ohio
- Education
- University of Montana (philosophy and political science, 2017)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Sam Forstag was born on May 23, 1994, in Ohio and was raised mostly by a single mother who worked as an ICU nurse in Portland, Oregon. He moved to Montana in 2012 and worked multiple jobs to pay for his undergraduate education at the University of Montana, where he studied philosophy and political science and was elected student body president. U.S. Representative Susie Lee is his aunt.
Career
After graduating in 2017, Forstag took a job as a wildland firefighter to pay off student loan debt, intending at the time to apply to law school. He went on to spend eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four years as a smokejumper.
During the off seasons he worked as an organizer and lobbyist for the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and for the lobbying group Central House Strategies, where he represented the city of Missoula.
In 2025 he became vice president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 60, representing approximately 800 U.S. Forest Service workers.
2026 race
Sam Forstag is the Democratic nominee for Montana's 1st congressional district, which is based in western Montana and includes Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell. The seat is open because Republican incumbent Ryan Zinke announced on March 2, 2026, that he would retire at the end of his term.
Forstag won a four-way Democratic primary with 37.3% of the vote, ahead of author Ryan Busse, the party's 2024 nominee for governor, who took 33.1%, and education consultant Russell Cleveland with 21.7%.
His campaign has focused on protecting public land along with housing and health care affordability. In the general election on November 3, 2026, he faces Republican Aaron Flint, a veteran and radio host, Libertarian Nick Sheedy, a genealogist and research historian, and independent Kimberly Persico.