2026 forecast · Montana 1st

Sam Forstag and Aaron Flint are in a toss up for Montana's 1st District.

Sam Forstag vs Aaron Flint, an open seat. The model has Flint ahead by 0.7 points, winning 55 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Toss upModel R +0.7Polls R +0.0Updated October 22, 2026
Sam Forstag
Democrat
48.7%
137,858 projected votes
Aaron Flint
Republican
49.5%
139,885 projected votes
55%Flint
45%Forstag
Flint slightly favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Flint wins about 55 of 100
RatingToss up55% chance for Flint
Model marginR +0.7Polls R +0.0
80 percent rangeD +7.8 to R +9.42,000 simulations
Projected votes282,881Flint 49.5%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Montana districts

2 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Sam ForstagDemocrat · 45% to win
48.7%
Aaron FlintRepublican · 55% to win
49.5%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

282,881 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Aaron Flint R139,88549.5%
Sam Forstag D137,85848.7%
Nick Sheedy L5,1391.8%
Total282,881100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%45% Forstag55% Flint16 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

Polls of the race

PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +0.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Flint +0.7
Chance of winning
Sam Forstag45%
Aaron Flint55%
Simulated vote
Sam Forstag48.7%
Aaron Flint49.5%
Nick Sheedy1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +12.0
FundamentalsR +0.6
With pollsR +1.1
Early vote turnoutD +0.4
With early voteR +0.7

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Montana, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +14R +14Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +12.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +0.6With pollsaverage R +0.0R +1.1With early voteturnout so farR +0.7
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.