All Eyes on Montana CD1 as Primary Day Arrives

Montana voters will cast ballots Tuesday in primary elections that will shape the state’s most competitive federal races of the 2026 cycle, with talk radio host Aaron Flint entering primary day as the clear frontrunner in the Republican contest for the Western Congressional District.

Flint carries the full weight of the Republican establishment behind him, having secured endorsements from President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Gianforte, both U.S. senators, and retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke. His fundraising has matched his political standing, with $677,089 raised through May 13 and $384,673 in cash on hand according to Federal Election Commission filings. A quarter of his haul came from PACs tied directly to Montana’s top Republican officeholders. A mid-May poll by Public Opinion Strategies showed him leading the Republican field by 10 percentage points.

Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, despite having won statewide elections by the largest margins of any Republican in both 2020 and 2024, has largely failed to translate that electoral history into momentum in the congressional race. Outside donors showed limited enthusiasm for her candidacy, and her campaign raised $260,061 — much of it from personal loans to herself — spent aggressively, and entered the final stretch with just $94,765 in cash on hand and nearly $469,000 in debt owed back to herself. She was also the only major candidate to skip the only scheduled Republican primary debate.

Al Olszewski, a Kalispell orthopedic surgeon running in his fourth primary for different offices without a win, raised $411,337 but $174,701 of that came from personal loans. He held $104,010 in cash on hand heading into Tuesday with $489,701 in campaign debt.

On the Democratic side, gun control advocate and former MSNBC commentator Ryan Busse and union lobbyist Sam Forstag, who carries endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, led a four-way field that also includes Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains.

Polls close at 8 p.m. Mountain Time Tuesday. Winners advance to the November 3 general election in a race forecasters currently rate as likely Republican.

By: Digital News Updates Newswire