Montana 1st District Voter Guide: Flint, Forstag and Sheedy on Rural Health Care and Housing
Three candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot in Montana's 1st Congressional District, according to the Montana Secretary of State's candidate list: Republican Aaron Flint of Kalispell, Democrat Sam Forstag of Missoula and Libertarian Nick Sheedy of Columbia Falls. The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares where they stand on rural health care and housing costs.
The district covers Western Montana, including Missoula, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell. The seat is open: Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke announced on March 2 that he would not seek reelection and backed Flint, Montana Free Press reported. Zinke won the seat in 2024 with 52.3 percent of the vote, according to Wikipedia's summary of the results.
Why Rural Health Care and Housing Are Issues in Montana's 1st District
The Cook Political Report rates the race a Toss Up in its Oct. 23, 2026 ratings. Sabato's Crystal Ball also lists it as a Toss-up, as of Oct. 27, and Inside Elections rates it Tilt Republican, as of Oct. 15, according to Wikipedia's ratings table. An Emerson College poll released Oct. 22 had Forstag at 50 percent and Flint at 46 percent among 329 likely voters, and an American Pulse poll from Sept. 28 had Flint at 46 percent and Forstag at 45 percent, according to 270toWin's poll listing. Montana Free Press described the race as a statistical tie across several polls since September. President Donald Trump rallied for Flint in Kalispell on Oct. 14.
Montana Free Press asked each candidate what Congress should do for rural hospitals and clinics facing "low patient volume and tight budget margins," and how to address home ownership and the cost of living. The answers below come from that questionnaire and the newspaper's reporting.
On rural health care, the TDFP video says Flint "wants targeted federal funding that reaches rural hospitals and providers." It says Forstag "wants everyone to have the option to buy into Medicare and expanded ACA subsidies for working people," and that Sheedy "favors less regulation, with a limited federal role in local care except for veterans facilities."
On housing and living costs, the video says Flint would "stop Wall Street firms buying family homes, cut building red tape, and expand timber production and trade training." It says Forstag would "fund more homes, encourage zoning reform, and ban hedge funds from buying homes," and that Sheedy "would end the Federal Reserve and change monetary policy to prevent inflation eroding the dollar."
Aaron Flint (Republican)
Flint, a fifth-generation Montanan who grew up in Glasgow, served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army Reserve with deployments that included Iraq and Afghanistan, and was a conservative talk radio host before he became a candidate, Montana Free Press reported. He won his four-way June primary with 50 percent of the vote.
On rural health care, Flint pointed to the 2025 Republican budget law: "In the One Big Beautiful Bill, $50 billion was set aside specifically for rural healthcare. Montana received $233 million, the fourth highest allocation in the country." He added: "That is the kind of targeted support I will focus on. One-size-fits-all policies pushed by the left do not work for Montana." He told Montana Free Press the Affordable Care Act is "a complete train wreck."
On housing, Flint said: "Step one: stop Wall Street investing firms from buying Montana family homes. Next, cut the red tape around building homes. Regulations add cost and time to projects." He also called for "producing building materials here at home," saying "a strong domestic logging industry lowers costs," and for "investing in apprenticeships and trade training."
Sam Forstag (Democrat)
Forstag worked four seasons as a seasonal smokejumper and eight as a wildland firefighter, last working as a smokejumper in 2025, and is vice president of a federal employees' union local, Montana Free Press reported. His campaign highlights endorsements from 17 labor unions, the paper reported.
On rural health care, Forstag said: "In Congress, I'll fight to give every American the option of free or affordable healthcare. We do that by giving everyone the choice to buy into Medicare and expanding ACA subsidies to make it free for working people." He also said: "Too many Montanans in rural communities are forced to drive for hours just to get a checkup or fill a prescription." Montana Free Press reported that he wants to reverse the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 budget law.
On housing, Forstag said he would "deliver significant federal investment in housing that's equal in scale to the crisis we're facing," "incentivize zoning and regulatory reform" and "end corporate home ownership by banning the purchase of residential property by hedge funds and private equity firms." He also backs restoring a first-time homebuyer tax credit.
Nick Sheedy (Libertarian)
Sheedy, of Columbia Falls, is the Libertarian nominee. Montana Free Press reported that polls have shown him far behind the two major-party candidates.
On rural health care, Sheedy said: "I am not sure the federal government has or should have a significant role to play when it comes to local hospitals and clinics," with the exception of "federally-operated resources like VA hospitals and clinics that serve our veterans." He said the best way for Congress to improve access "would be to lower the regulatory burden, which artificially restricts the supply of healthcare providers."
On housing and the cost of living, Sheedy called for "monetary reform that does not allow the value of our currency to be eroded continually," adding: "We should end the Federal Reserve and the federal banking cartel that has destroyed the value of the US Dollar with continual inflationary policies, money-supply controls and interest rate manipulation."
Where to Follow the Candidates
Aaron Flint: @AaronFlint on X and flintformontana.com. Sam Forstag: @SamForstag on X and samformontana.com. Nick Sheedy: no campaign website was listed in his state filing.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Montana voters can check their registration and polling place through the Montana Secretary of State at sosmt.gov. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Montana Secretary of State, 2026 federal general election candidate list: https://candidatefiling.mt.gov/candidatefiling/CandidateList.aspx?e=450002987 ; Montana Free Press election guide, Aaron Flint: https://projects.montanafreepress.org/election-guide-2026/candidates/aaron-flint/ ; Montana Free Press election guide, Sam Forstag: https://projects.montanafreepress.org/election-guide-2026/candidates/sam-forstag/ ; Montana Free Press election guide, Nick Sheedy: https://projects.montanafreepress.org/election-guide-2026/candidates/nick-sheedy/ ; Montana Free Press, Aaron Flint profile (Oct. 15, 2026): https://montanafreepress.org/2026/10/15/aaron-flint-comes-out-swinging/ ; Montana Free Press, Sam Forstag profile (Oct. 14, 2026): https://montanafreepress.org/2026/10/14/forstag-house-election-montana/ ; 270toWin, Montana 1st District polls: https://www.270towin.com/2026-house-polls/montana/district-1 ; Cook Political Report House ratings: https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings ; Wikipedia, 2026 U.S. House elections in Montana: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Montana ; Montana Secretary of State elections: https://sosmt.gov/elections/
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