Forstag declares victory, Busse concedes Democratic primary for western district

Sam Forstag declared victory in Montana's Democratic primary for the western congressional district Wednesday morning, a little over 12 hours after polls closed.

"Today, people across Montana made clear that we're ready to send working class representation to Washington so that we can fight for ourselves," Forstag, a former union leader in the U.S. Forest Service, said in a statement Wednesday morning. "We're ready to move past the politics of hate and division that national leaders have sold us to distract from their failures."

Forstag trailed Ryan Busse until late Tuesday evening, when Missoula County's votes began rolling in. An early morning drop of vote tallies bolstered Forstag's lead. Busse conceded the race not long after Forstag claimed the win.

"I want to offer a heartfelt congratulations to Sam Forstag for winning the Democratic primary," Busse, a former firearms executive and 2024 gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement on social media. "He ran an impressive campaign and I am excited to support him as he fights for our community."

Meanwhile, Aaron Flint won the western congressional district's four-way GOP primary in under an hour on Tuesday.

Flint now joins a slate of Trump-endorsed candidates who have decidedly won their primaries across the country. He overcame Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, as well as Al Olszewski, a stalwart in Republican politics.

"We had a good day awaiting us," Flint said in an interview shortly after 9 p.m. "But to have the race already called here with daylight still in the sky over the Flathead is incredible."

Republican primary results:

Ray Curtis: 7% (5,435)

Aaron Flint: 50% (40,880)

Christi Jacobsen: 23% (18,722)

Al Olszewski: 20% (16,517)

Democratic primary results:

Ryan Busse: 33% (22,952)

Russell Cleveland: 22% (15,067)

Sam Forstag: 37% (25,854)

Matt Rains: 8% (5,476)

Flint burst onto the scene in early March with the blessing of U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who Flint is running to succeed, as well as President Donald Trump, the standard-bearer of the Republican Party whose chosen candidates have found success this year across the country.

Despite the affordability issues front of mind this cycle and the war Trump is waging against Iran, most of the president's endorsed candidates have handily won their races.

Flint said Tuesday's win shows voters are still united behind the president.

"What Montanans are saying is they realize what got our country into this mess in the first place, and they understand that we have a plan," he said.

Busse’s name recognition from his 2024 run for governor made him an instant frontrunner in the Democratic primary against three first-time candidates. He raised more than any other candidate through this point in the election and has seen favorable polling, albeit limited, in recent months.

Cleveland, Forstag and Rains spent the weeks leading up to the primary working to distinguish their campaigns that were largely aligned on policy. Cleveland knocked the doors, Forstag dominated the national media’s focus on Montana and Rains directed his resources to TV ads.

Forstag got a last-minute boost from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when she touched down in Missoula last week for an event which, while a week later than originally planned, rallied unions and working-class voters to maintain energy into the last sprint of the primary.

Forstag fans waited out the vote count at the Union in Missoula on Tuesday night. The antsy crowd kept one eye on a projector broadcasting live results and an ear toward the stage where a band called Girl Freak tried to keep people entertained.

The Democratic hopeful worked the crowd, giving hugs to supporters and stepping away only to eat food from the grill window.

"It feels really important to remember that there are other people who believe things can change," said Jamie Anderluh, a Missoula resident and Forstag voter.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Cleveland urged his supporters to gather behind Forstag in the general election.

"The stakes are simply too high," he said. "No matter who you supported in this primary, we share a common responsibility moving forward. If we want a different future for Montana and for this country, we must unite behind our nominee and do everything possible to defeat Aaron Flint in November."

Flint, Jacobsen and Olszewski were all seen as formidable candidates in this primary, while Curtis said from the start he wouldn’t take campaign donations.

Flint and Olszewski both attended local GOP events and shared the stage at the only debate of the primary, while Jacobsen mostly kept her campaign trail to smaller events. Still, Jacobsen outperformed even Donald Trump in both of her elections to her current post. That gave her campaign the kind of cachet that couldn’t be written off.

Flint's fundraising, however, far outpaced the other two, who were self-funding their campaigns to various degrees.

Olszewski said in a phone interview on Wednesday his fundraising was clipped by early opposition from Zinke in a scathing op-ed that ran in newspapers across the state.

"A 90-day campaign is a significant sprint," Olszewski said. "We took a hit and it was near-mortal and, ya know, that’s part of the game. You step on the field and get ready to take whatever."

Despite Zinke's disposition against Olszewski, the two remained generally cordial during their lone debate in April. Asked if he's getting behind Flint's campaign for the general election, Olszewski didn't make it seem likely.

"I'm stepping back from politics," he said.

Lee Montana State News Bureau reporter Carly Graf contributed to this story.