Montana GOP candidates jump into race for western House district

Within hours of Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announcing he would not run for re-election, citing health concerns, two well-known conservatives had announced their candidacy.

Zinke on Monday immediately endorsed one of the candidates, talk radio host Aaron Flint, as his preferred successor.

“Aaron is a decorated combat veteran, a strong America First Conservative, a lifelong advocate for our Montana way of life, and is the next generation of leadership Montana needs,” Zinke said. “When our country needed him after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Aaron raised his hand to serve. Now when Montana needs him again, he’s ready to serve. He has my complete and total endorsement!”

Contenders have just 48 hours to jump into the Republican primary race for the MT-01 seat before the state filing deadline closes. Montana currently has an all-Republican delegation to Congress.

Flathead County Republican Central Committee Chairperson Al Olszewski confirmed to the Daily Montanan that he is joining the race, and was set to file at 3 p.m. Monday regardless, having heard a rumor that Zinke might retire and given the incumbent had yet to file.

Olszewski ran against Zinke in the 2022 primary for the newly created Western District and garnered 39.8% of the vote to finish a close second to Zinke’s 41.7%. Fewer than 2,000 votes separated the primary candidates.

“We have good name recognition. We have good support,” Olszewski said in a phone interview on Monday. “I’ve kept myself busy in the background, making sure I’ve developed some gravity or some clout, moving forward.”

He said his team that helped him run in 2022 is together, and Olszewski said his priority is “making sure we can get an endorsement from the president before Aaron Flint does.”

Flint, who recently bought a house in the Flathead Valley, released a campaign video Monday afternoon announcing he was jumping into the race.

Flint served in the U.S. Army National Guard, has been a prominent conservative voice in the state for years and was in Washington, D.C., last week reporting from the U.S. Capitol during the State of the Union address.

“The gun grabbing socialists are on the march in Western Montana. They’ll tax your social security and put their hand right back in your tip jar. We will stop them,” Flint said in a post on social media.

Montana’s junior U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy announced his endorsement of Flint on Monday afternoon, calling him a “proven fighter” and “strong voice” for Montanans.