Rep. Ocasio-Cortez stumps for Sam Forstag ahead of primary in Missoula

MISSOULA, Mont. - With Montana’s primary only days away, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a stop at the Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula to campaign for Democratic candidate Sam Forstag on Thursday night. 

Ocasio-Cortez spoke about Montana’s history of fighting back against power and powerful individuals, which she called a hallmark of the Treasure State.

"In every generation, this state has had ordinary people here stand up and fight back," Ocasio-Cortez said. "It was Montana that took on the railroads that carved up the state. It was Montana that fought mining companies that poisoned your rivers. And it was Montana that held the United States government accountable for the harm it caused to our native American brothers and sisters and the land they took from them,”

She also introduced Sam Forstag, a Missoula smokejumper who is seeking the Democratic nomination for MT-01.

Forstag spoke at a rally last year for AOC and Bernie Sanders during their "Fight Oligarcy" tour. He had some cutting words for current Montana Representative Ryan Zinke, who bowed out of re-election this past March.

“So after a year of fighting those cuts with my union, and fighting those fires as a smokejumper, I decided that if they are going to come after my co-worker's jobs, I'm going to come after his," Forstag said. "We are well on our way, because a few months ago, Ryan dropped out of this race, and he dropped out, because he saw what was coming, and what was coming was all of us,”

Forstag will have a tough political fight to the finish line, including winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday. His competition is Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland, and Matt Rains.

The winner will try to become the first Democrat to win election to the House of Representatives in Montana since 1997, when Pat Williams represented the Treasure State in Washington, D.C.

Ballots are due by 8:00 PM on Tuesday, June 2nd to your local election office.