This story was updated on Monday at 4:57 p.m. with additional developments.  U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke said he won’t seek reelection in Montana’s western U.S. House District on Monday, citing health problems. Shortly after his announcement, conservative talk radio firebrand Aaron Flint and forme r Kalispell legislator Dr. Al Olszewski announced plans to run in the Republican primary in June. The development could improve the slim chance of a Democratic contender winning the race, according to one Democratic analyst. “Neither Olzewski, nor Flint has general election experience for federal office,” said Joe Lamson, a veteran Democratic campaign manager who served on the 2020 districting commission that created the western congressional district. That detail could make a difference in the race — if no other Republican candidate is to step forward, he added. Candidates have until Wednesday, March 4 to file with the state. Zinke, 64, has been elected as a Republican to represent Montana in the U.S. House four times since 2014. He said in his announcement that injuries sustained during his Navy SEAL career had caught up with him and that he needed surgery and time to recover. “I have made the decision to leave office at the end of my fourth term and not seek re-election,” Zinke said in a letter to constituents, which he posted online. The congressman had been expected to seek re-election in Montana’s western U.S. House District, which the Whitefish native has represented since 2023. Zinke was elected Montana’s at-large representative in 2014 and 2016, before the state was divided into two congressional districts following the 2020 census. “I do not take this decision lightly and have informed President Trump, the Governor, and senior leadership of this difficult but necessary decision,” Zinke also wrote. He stated that he is not chronically ill, but had nagging injuries from his military career. Zinke gave no hints during a Friday visit to Butte that he would announce his retirement three days later. The congressman joined Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for a tour of the Montana Tech campus. He wore his trademark black cowboy hat and appeared relaxed and comfortable as the entourage went up and down stairs through the mining department’s labs and testing rooms. In an hour-long roundtable presentation, Zinke took questions from several reporters. U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke, MT-01, listens during a roundtable with Montana mining executives, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Montana Technological University Chancellor Dr. Johnny MacLean during their visit to the University on Feb. 27, 2026, in Butte. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America Zinke was appointed President Donald Trump’s first Interior secretary in 2017, but resigned from the position in 2019 during several investigations and political pressure. Shortly after Zinke announced his retirement, talk radio personality Aaron Flint posted a dramatic campaign video on X, highlighting his role as a radio personality, family man and veteran, while invoking Donald Trump. He also issued a press release stating that he had been endorsed by Zinke, Gov. Greg Gianforte, Senator Tim Sheehy and other Republican officials. The listed contact for Flint’s campaign was Zinke’s chief of staff, Heather Swift.  Flint, who hosts a three-hour, conservative statewide morning radio show from Billings, staffed Zinke’s office as an employee of the U.S. House Clerk for more than three months in 2017 after the representative resigned his at-large Montana district to become Interior secretary. Flint held the position until Gianforte was elected to replace Zinke in the 2017 special election. Former congressional candidate Dr. Al Olszewski told Montana Free Press that he was filing to run as a Republican in the western district. Olszewski, a former Kalispell state senator, said he had been watching candidate filings to see if Zinke would run. He said that he suspected Zinke wouldn’t. Zinke defeated Olszewski in the 2022 primary. The race was so close that it took a few days to confirm the outcome. Four Democrats — Ryan Busse, Russ Cleveland, Sam Forstag and Matt Rains — have announced their intentions to run in the primary in the Western District. Zinke won the seat by 4 percentage points against Democrat Monica Tranel in 2022, and then 7.6 points in 2024 as an incumbent against Tranel again. Lamson, who worked on many Montana Democratic campaigns including that of former U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, said that a successful statewide candidate like Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen or Attorney General Austin Knudsen running in the west would present a more difficult opponent for those Democratic hopefuls. Forstag issued a press release declaring the district an “open race” without Zinke.  “Ryan Zinke quit because he saw what was coming: all of us. People across western Montana who are hungry for real representation and a new generation of leadership,” Forstag said. He and other Democratic candidates have previously told MTFP that they expected dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump, who won more than 58% of the Montana vote in 2024, to make the Western District competitive as they sought to challenge Zinke. Gianforte thanked Zinke for his service in a press release following the announcement. “He’s been an outspoken advocate for Montanans and our values from protecting public lands to restoring accountability in the federal government,” Gianforte said. U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy called fellow Republican Zinke a mentor. Sheehy, like Zinke, is a former Navy SEAL commander. “Montana owes him a deep debt of gratitude, and he will be deeply missed in the halls of Congress,” Sheehy said in a press release. Rob Chaney contributed reporting. The post Western Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke said he won’t seek reelection citing health problems  appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less