HELENA — There’s now less than a year to go until the 2026 elections in Montana. Three members of Montana’s congressional delegation are up for election next year, and a growing number of candidates are coming forward to challenge them.
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, of Whitefish, will be up for another term. Zinke is in his second stint representing Montana in the U.S. House. When the state had only one House seat, Zinke held it from 2015 to 2017 – resigning to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior for two years during President Donald Trump’s first term. In 2022, Montana got back its second seat and Zinke successfully ran in the 1st District.
The 1st District includes most of western and southwestern Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. In 2024, Zinke defeated Democratic candidate Monica Tranel there by seven percentage points. Trump also won the district that year, though Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester narrowly won it while losing statewide in his race for reelection.
Last week, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was endorsing Zinke for reelection.
“During my Administration, Ryan and I worked together to Achieve Energy Independence, Increase Federal Energy Revenues, and to Build Energy Production,” he wrote. “In Congress, Ryan is fighting hard to Secure the Border, Stop Illegal Immigration, Grow the Economy, and Protect and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”
(Watch the video to hear from two Democratic candidates who are challenging Zinke.)
So far, two Democratic candidates have announced challenges to Zinke: Russell Cleveland, of St. Regis, and Matt Rains, of Simms. There are some parallels among the candidates. Both men have pointed to their backgrounds in agriculture, growing up in farm and ranch families. Both grew up in Montana, spent years away and then returned. Including Zinke, all three candidates have spent time in the military: Cleveland as a Navy aviation electrician, Rains as an Army helicopter pilot and Zinke as a Navy SEAL.
Cleveland was the first challenger to announce he was running, back in April. Since then, he says he’s been spending his time meeting with voters in small towns across the district.
“I focused nothing on parties; I really wanted to focus on issues, just to say, ‘Hey, if someone was to come in and really represent Montana, what Montanans need, what would that look like?’” Cleveland said. “So I built an entire platform based around what working Montanans really feel like they need from a representative.”
Cleveland, 40, grew up in Stevensville. After the Army and other jobs, he ran a child care business in Colorado called Rocky Mountain Kids, which he said became one of that state’s largest providers during COVID. He returned to Montana with his family in 2021 and sold the business in October 2024.
Cleveland describes himself as a populist and says the Democratic Party needs to recenter itself on serving working Montanans.
“We really need to focus on bringing jobs back to Montana, having an industry that supports the working class, getting people back into homes, more affordable housing, programs that really help with development of our youth and taking care of our veterans and seniors,” he said.
Cleveland believes there are voters in the district who listened to Trump’s message but won’t be happy with the impacts of the administration’s actions, especially on issues like tariffs.
“Trump's message was focused on the working class, but some of the issues that have happened since have not helped the working class,” he said.
He wants to focus his campaign on issues like affordability, environmental stewardship and protecting access to health care. One of his main priorities is addressing a campaign finance system that he says leaves elected officials not listening to the public.
Rains announced he was getting into the race last month, saying he believed the Montana way of life was under attack.
“I know I've got the grit, determination, and experience to represent Montana the way we've always deserved,” he said.
Rains, 45, grew up in Simms. After his army service, he spent time as an international photojournalist and an engineer. Most recently, he was the former chief of staff for the Montana Farmers Union. He argues his background gives him a way to communicate with Democratic and Republican voters alike.
“I understand their way of life, what matters to them, and then I can bring who I am and how I can help them and help them understand it in a way that they connect with,” he said. “So, yeah, I speak a lot of languages in the state.”
In 2019, Rains ran for Montana’s at-large U.S. House seat, before dropping out of the race to endorse eventual Democratic nominee Kathleen Williams. He ran unsuccessfully for the state Legislature in 2022.
In this election, he also wants to emphasize issues where he says Trump administration policies are doing real harm to Montanans – including tariffs and the proposal to import beef from Argentina. He says Democrats should be able to make the case that they can use the tools of government to help make people’s lives better.
Rains lives in Cascade County, about 45 miles outside the western district. However, U.S. House candidates are only required to live in the state they’re running in, not the district. He argues his home is centrally located enough that he can serve the western district perfectly well – and he says it’s most important that the Democratic nominee be someone who can go toe-to-toe with Zinke.
“45 miles doesn't change the core essence of a Montanan,” he said. “When I talk to people, they're really excited that there's somebody in this race that has the background, the experience that can take Ryan Zinke down.”
There could still be more candidates getting into this race. The deadline for candidates to file in Montana’s 2026 elections will be March 4.
