According to sources, Aaron Flint has reportedly called Sam Forstag to concede the election and wish him well.
The Associated Press has not called the race at this time; with 69 percent of votes counted, Forstag leads 100,979 (53.9 percent) to Flint's 81,327 (43.4 percent).
Libertarian Nick Sheedy has 5,102 votes (2.7 percent) at the time this article was published.
Voters have chosen Democrat Sam Forstag as Montana’s new U.S. representative, after a highly competitive race for the state’s western congressional district. It’s the first time in two decades that a Democrat will represent Montana in the U.S. House.
Forstag, 32, is a former wildland firefighter and union leader who campaigned on bringing working Montanans’ perspective to Congress. He defeated Republican nominee Aaron Flint and Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy.
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The 1st Congressional District covers western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke has represented the district since 2022. He announced his decision not to seek another term shortly before the deadline, and he endorsed Flint to replace him.
Republicans and Democrats both identified the 1st District election as a key race in the nationwide battle to control the U.S. House. While political analysts initially projected the seat as safely Republican, both sides saw it as an increasingly competitive contest in recent weeks. Groups like the Cook Political Report finally described the race as a toss-up between Flint and Forstag.
Over the final weeks of the campaign, national Republican leaders made multiple trips to the western district to support Flint. President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Kalispell, Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Belgrade, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared in Bozeman.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
