Sam Forstag

Sam Forstag spent four seasons parachuting into remote country to fight fires, after starting as a wildland firefighter.¹ His mother picked up extra nursing shifts, his father taught in public schools, and he worked his way through the University of Montana before joining the Forest Service.²

Between fire seasons, he worked as an organizer and legislative advocate on education, libraries, health care and civil liberties.² He has described working two or three jobs at once to cover his bills.³ By 2026, he had spent eight years in wildland firefighting and served as vice president of his federal employees' union local.¹

Forstag says the 2025 cuts to the Forest Service helped persuade him to run, and he organized against those reductions as a union officer.¹ His current proposals include a Medicare option, higher reimbursement for rural medical providers, federal housing investment, zoning changes and restrictions on corporate purchases of homes.³ He also supports more apprenticeships and construction jobs, tying his housing plan to the shortage of skilled workers as well as the price of land and buildings.³

He faces Republican Aaron Flint in the western Montana seat that opened when Ryan Zinke decided against seeking another term.¹ The contest gives voters a choice between Forstag's labor oriented approach to affordability and a Republican opponent emphasizing tax reductions, resource development and immigration enforcement.⁴⁵