One week into the filing period for the 2026 elections, one thing is clear: The year’s biggest primary race, to be decided in June, will be the Democratic contest for Montana’s Western U.S. House District. Four candidates are already vying for the Democratic nomination to face incumbent Repu blican Rep. Ryan Zinke. Montanans have sent Zinke to Congress four times since 2014, twice to represent the state’s single at-large district, and twice to represent MT-01, the regional district comprising 18 counties mostly on the western side of the Rockies. The Western District, formed in 2022 after population growth restored Montana’s second district, is anchored by three political powerhouses. Gallatin and Missoula counties, including Bozeman and Missoula, are the state’s bluest regions, while Flathead County, including Kalispell, ranks second in the state for its concentration of Republican voters. The candidates running in the Democratic primary say 2026 could be their year if voter dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump catches up with members of Congress. Zinke is a Trump loyalist who served as Interior Secretary for part of the president’s first term. Zinke defeated Democrat Monica Tranel to win the district in 2022 and 2024, the second time by a seven-point margin. “I feel like this could be the marquee race in the state,” candidate Ryan Busse said Friday. “It’s a chance for us to plant a blue flag, make the state purple again.” Busse was the Democratic Party’s 2024 challenger to incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, who was easily reelected. The money spent boosting Busse’s name recognition in the 2024 race gave him a branding boost in a primary field of Democrats that have never run a statewide race before. Ad spending in the race has been minimal so far, with in-person voting set to begin May 4, but there’s already been some splashy early publicity. Democrat Sam Forstag announced his campaign in January with a professionally produced Instagram video highlighting his career as a smokejumper and union organizer. Forstag rolled out an endorsement by Vermont senator and progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders simultaneously with the video.  Forstag said Friday that affordability, particularly regarding health care and housing, is his top issue. All four Democratic primary candidates emphasized affordability in interviews with Montana Free Press.  “It’s not just that people can’t afford to live in Bozeman or Missoula or Whitefish anymore. A lot of people got pushed out to Belgrade, now you can’t afford to live there. They got pushed out of Manhattan and they can’t afford to live there,” Forstag said. “It’s actually bad enough that I think people are ready for a real big bold change. We really need it right now.” Russ Cleveland was the first Democrat to campaign in the Western District this election cycle, starting in April 2025, assessing that medical costs weren’t going down under President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress. Cleveland lost a daughter to leukemia when she was 13 years old.  Cleveland, who grew up near conservative Stevensville, said rural communities in the Western District are where his race could be won. To date, his campaign has focused on person-to-person engagements, particularly with veterans. Cleveland served in the U.S. Navy from 2009 through 2013. His parents, he said, are Republicans from Townsend.  “This is a conservative state with progressive values,” Cleveland said, noting that while Republicans swept statewide races in 2024, voters also codified a constitutional right to abortion.  Matt Rains, a rancher from Simms, is also a veteran. The West Point graduate and Blackhawk helicopter pilot adds Trump administration tariffs to the affordability issues facing Montanans. He said agricultural trade has suffered under Trump. Affordable housing, he said, is also crucial.  “Right now … a 20- to 30-year-old is really almost giving two-thirds of their wages, salary, just for a place to live, and that’s unsustainable,” Rains said. “We have to find solutions there.” In Montana’s Eastern U.S. House District, incumbent Republican Rep. Troy Downing doesn’t to date have a primary opponent. He is the only candidate for the district currently registered with the secretary of state. Two Democrats — Sam Lux and Brian James Miller — have organized campaign committees but haven’t yet registered to be on the ballot. Independent Michael Eisenhauer, of Great Falls, has registered a campaign committee with the FEC, but hasn’t registered with the secretary of state to begin gathering signatures to qualify for the general election. There will be a U.S. Senate primary for Democrats featuring Reilly Neill, of Livingston, and Alani Bankhead, of Helena, who have registered campaign committees but not yet filed with Montana’s secretary of state. Democrat Michael Hummert, of Helena, has registered his candidacy with the state. Kate McLaughlin, of Kalispell, is another Democrat with a registered campaign committee who hasn’t registered with the secretary of state, along with Michael Blackwolf, and Charles Walkingchild Sr. The winner will face the Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Steve Daines in November. Daines is seeking his third six-year term in the Senate and has more than $4.9 million in cash on hand as election season begins. His would-be challengers have less than $35,000 cash on hand combined. Former University of Montana President Seth Bodnar, who resigned his post to run as an independent for the U.S. Senate, has not to date registered with the state or formed a federal campaign committee. A spokesman for Bodnar confirmed his intention to run in an interview with Montana Free Press on Jan 12, 2026.  Down ballot, two seats on Montana’s Public Service Commission, which regulates monopoly utilities, are up for election. Both have drawn Republican primary contests. In northwest Montana’s District 5, incumbent Anne Bukacek of Kalispell is being challenged by former commission employee David Sanders of Hamilton. Former Republican legislators Jeff Pattison and Jeremy Trebas will compete for District 1, representing north-central and northeast Montana. As of Friday, 190 candidates — 106 Republicans and 84 Democrats — have filed for state legislative races.  There are currently 24 contested Republican primaries for legislative offices, some featuring grudge matches between the party’s conservative and moderate factions. There are five Democratic primaries for the state Legislature, all for open seats. Among the contests shaping up to be heated are for control of north-central Montana’s Senate District 9, where House Appropriations Chair Llew Jones — a longtime legislator from Conrad who championed the Legislature’s controversial 2025 property tax measure — is expected to face Rep. Zack Wirth, a Wolf Creek lawmaker who is campaigning against “career politicians.” Wirth has filed for office. Jones hasn’t yet filed, but formed a campaign committee for Senate District 9 in March 2025.  In the Bitterroot Valley, Republicans David Bedey and Kathy Love of Hamilton are facing off to replace 2023 Republican Senate President Jason Ellsworth, who is termed out. Both Love and Bedey currently serve in the state House, where Bedey is part of a bipartisan coalition that’s prevailed on health care, taxation and education legislation in recent sessions. In Billings, Rep. Stacy Zinn and Ed Walker will face off for House District 45. Walker is a former state legislator. Zinn is the current vice chair of the Montana Republican Party. Both candidates campaigned for Montana’s Eastern U.S. House District in 2026.  The nonpartisan race to replace state Supreme Court Justice Beth Baker has so far attracted one official candidate, Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson. Amy Eddy, also a Flathead County District Court judge, has announced her candidacy, but not yet filed for office. Only if there are more than two candidates to replace Baker will there be an elimination round in a primary election.   Feb. 17 was the first day candidates could register to appear on the 2026 ballot. The final day for registration is March 4. The post 2026 election slates up and running appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less