Montana's 1st Congressional District election, 2026

← 2024
Montana's 1st Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 4, 2026
Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Montana
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Likely Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Montana's 1st Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd Montana elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Montana, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 4, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Montana's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
• Montana's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
		Russell Cleveland
		Matt Rains

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Incumbent Ryan K. Zinke is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
		Ryan K. Zinke

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Montana

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Ryan K. Zinke	Republican Party	$2,963,129	$1,376,573	$2,267,087	As of September 30, 2025
Russell Cleveland	Democratic Party	$72,020	$33,457	$38,562	As of September 30, 2025
Matt Rains	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Montana's 1st Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/23/2025	12/16/2025	12/9/2025	12/2/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Montana in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Montana, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Montana	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	$1740	3/4/2026	Source
Montana	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	6,128	$1740	6/1/2026	Source

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

• 2024
• 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Montana District 1

Incumbent Ryan K. Zinke (R) defeated Monica Tranel (D) and Dennis Hayes (L) in the general election for U.S. House Montana District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan K. Zinke (R)	52.3	168,529
		Monica Tranel (D)	44.6	143,783
	Submit photo	Dennis Hayes (L)	3.1	9,954

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 322,266
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Monica Tranel (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Monica Tranel	100.0	59,806

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,806
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Incumbent Ryan K. Zinke (R) defeated Mary Todd (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan K. Zinke	73.7	66,409
		Mary Todd	26.3	23,647

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 90,056
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Cory Moran (R)

Libertarian Party primary

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Dennis Hayes (L) defeated Ernie Noble (L) (Withdrew, appeared on ballot) in the Libertarian Party primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Dennis Hayes	65.4	390
	Submit photo	Ernie Noble (Withdrew, appeared on ballot)	34.6	206

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 596
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for U.S. House Montana District 1

Ryan K. Zinke (R) defeated Monica Tranel (D) and John Lamb (L) in the general election for U.S. House Montana District 1 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan K. Zinke (R)	49.6	123,102
		Monica Tranel (D)	46.5	115,265
		John Lamb (L)	3.9	9,593

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 247,960
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Monica Tranel (D) defeated Cora Neumann (D) and Tom Winter (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Monica Tranel	64.9	37,138
		Cora Neumann	26.9	15,396
		Tom Winter	8.2	4,723

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,257
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1

Ryan K. Zinke (R) defeated Albert Olszewski (R), Mary Todd (R), Matt Jette (R), and Mitch Heuer (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan K. Zinke	41.7	35,601
		Albert Olszewski	39.7	33,927
		Mary Todd	10.4	8,915
		Matt Jette	5.8	4,973
	Submit photo	Mitch Heuer	2.3	1,953

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 85,369
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lynn Hofland (R)
• Allen McKibben (R)

Libertarian Party primary

The Libertarian Party primary scheduled for June 7, 2022, was canceled. John Lamb (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party primary for U.S. House Montana District 1 without appearing on the ballot.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Montana's 1st the 185th most Republican district nationally.

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Montana's 1st Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
43.0%	54.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Montana, 2024

Montana presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 10 Democratic wins
• 21 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	D	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also: Party control of Montana state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Montana's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Montana
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	2	4
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	2	4

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Montana's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Montana, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Greg Gianforte
Lieutenant Governor	Kristen Juras
Secretary of State	Christi Jacobsen
Attorney General	Austin Knudsen

State legislature

Montana State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	18
	Republican Party	32
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Montana House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	42
	Republican Party	58
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

Montana Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Fifteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	R	R	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also

Montana	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Montana congressional delegation Voting in Montana Montana elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Montana's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Steve Daines (R)

Tim Sheehy (R)

Representatives

District 1

Ryan Zinke (R)

District 2

Troy Downing (R)

Republican Party (4)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

Senate by State

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House by State

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Election information

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • List of candidates running for election • List of congressional challengers • Retiring senators • Retiring representatives

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Super PACs/Organizations

American Bridge 21st Century • American Crossroads • American Unity PAC • Campaign for Primary Accountability • Club for Growth Action • Congressional Leadership Fund • Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee• Crossroads Generation • Ending Spending Action Fund • Endorse Liberty • Fair Share Action • FreedomWorks for America • Government Integrity Fund • House Majority PAC • Independence USA Fund • League of Conservation Voters • Liberty for All PAC • Majority PAC • National Association of Realtors • NEA Advocacy Fund • Now or Never PAC • Planned Parenthood Votes • Ready for Hillary • Republicans for a Prosperous America • Restore America's Voice PAC • SEIU Pea-Federal • Women Vote!

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