A growing field of Democrats is lining up to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke in Montana’s western U.S. House district, as the party looks to mount a competitive bid in a seat national analysts still rate as safely Republican.
On Thursday, Ryan Busse, an author, climate activist and gun control advocate from Kansas, announced he is running for Congress in Montana’s 1st Congressional District. The announcement comes just over a year after Busse was the Democratic nominee for governor in the 2024 election, a race he lost by more than 20 percentage points.
Busse, 55, said his decision to run again reflects what he sees as a changed political environment heading into 2026. He criticized Zinke on issues including health care, tariffs and federal budget cuts, arguing that western Montanans need stronger advocacy on affordability and economic security. Busse is also a longtime gun control advocate, a position that drew attention during his gubernatorial campaign.
“People were angry and tired,” Busse said, referring to the 2024 election cycle. “But this is not 2024 anymore. It’s 2026, and the party in power is doing bad things to the people of this state. Montana Democrats know they need to nominate somebody who can beat Zinke, and that’s why I’m doing this.”
Busse said the name recognition he gained during his statewide campaign puts him in a strong position in a crowded Democratic primary. During his 2024 campaign, Busse under-performed Zinke’s then challenger Monica Tranel in almost over county in the district.
His entry follows the recent launch of a campaign by Sam Forstag, a 31-year-old former wildland firefighter, LGBTQ activist and union lobbyist from Missoula. Forstag says his campaign is focused on representing working-class Montanans and opposing federal job cuts, including reductions affecting the U.S. Forest Service.
“These are people making less than $20 an hour swinging tools in the woods,” Forstag said. “And it’s the same story that it always is: It’s working people getting screwed so that the richest people in this country can get a little bit richer.”
Forstag, was a speaker at a rally in Missoula last April for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders during Sanders’ 2024 presidential campaign. Sanders endorsed Forstag’s congressional bid earlier this week.
“Montanans finally realize it’s not okay to have one-party rule, and it’s not okay to have somebody like Zinke who just says yes to every destructive policy,” Forstag said. “I am excited and grateful to stand with anybody who’s actually willing to stand up for working people. Ryan Zinke has not been willing to do that.”
Busse and Forstag join two other Democrats already running for the nomination: Russ Cleveland, a former child-care business owner from St. Regis, and Matt Rains, a rancher from Simms.
Montana’s 1st Congressional District spans much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. Despite Democrats’ efforts to build momentum, national handicappers such as the Cook Political Report currently rate the seat as “Likely Republican” in the 2026 election.
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL and interior secretary, has been elected to the U.S. House four times—representing Montana’s at-large district in 2014 and 2016, and the western district in 2022 and 2024. He has not yet publicly commented on the expanding Democratic field.