A Democrat running in a key Montana House race as a \u201csmokejumper\u201d and working-class outsider previously worked as a registered lobbyist opposing state-level bills that would have restricted drag performances in public schools and libraries, banned gender-transition procedures for minors and cracked down on sanctuary policies, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.
\nSam Forstag, the Democratic nominee in Montana\u2019s 1st Congressional District, has leaned into a blue-collar campaign message, saying constituents like him \u201cknow how to work\u201d and \u201cknow how to swing a tool.\u201d\u00a0
\nHis campaign has focused on affordability, corruption and working-class frustrations, but his lobbying record puts him on the record on several hot-button issues that could undercut his effort to appeal to more centrist voters in a heavily Republican state.
\nBetween 2021 and 2023, Forstag was listed as a registered lobbyist for groups and entities such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the Montana Library Association and the City of Missoula. During that time, he testified against or was tied through lobbying records to opposition against bills involving drag performances in schools and libraries, transgender-related medical treatments for minors, boys competing in girls\u2019 sports, voter ID and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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\u201cThis bill is the latest of a series that I expect you\u2019ll see that are intended to stir up fear and distrust of our fellow citizens,\u201d Forstag told Montana lawmakers in 2023 as Republicans considered a bill restricting minors from attending drag performances in public schools and libraries. Forstag argued the measure was overly broad and could affect people who are transgender or nonbinary participating in library programming, saying he hoped lawmakers did not intend to \u201cprohibit an entire class of people\u201d from serving in public libraries.
\nForstag also opposed SB 99, a bill banning certain gender-transition procedures and medications for minors. In testimony on the bill, Forstag urged lawmakers to \u201cleave personal and medical decisions to families and their chosen health care providers.\u201d
\nWhile representing the ACLU of Montana, Forstag was tied to opposition against HB 112, which required student athletes to compete based on biological sex, and SB 169, a measure to increase scrutiny around voter ID protocols.
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Forstag also opposed bills involving sanctuary policies and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including measures aimed at requiring local officials to comply with immigration detainers.\u00a0
\nForstag did not directly dispute the lobbying record when asked by Fox News Digital, instead defending his work in the state capital as a fight for working people and individual freedom.
\n\u201cBetween fire seasons, I fought for working people in a state capital that too often ignores us,\u201d Forstag told Fox News Digital. \u201cInstead of accepting a system where the extremes and the rich have the loudest voice, I worked my tail off to defend Montanans\u2019 constitutional rights and freedoms and fight for policies that actually improve our lives.\u201d
\nForstag framed his opposition to bills involving transgender medical procedures as part of a broader belief that government should stay out of personal decisions.
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\n\u201cI believe the government\u2019s got no place getting involved in peoples\u2019 private, personal decisions,\u201d he said. \u201cPoliticians have no place coming for our guns, and no place inserting themselves into medical decisions that should be up to patients, parents, and doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n
On immigration, Forstag, who is backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said local police should not be forced to carry out federal immigration responsibilities.
\n\u201cLaws that force local law enforcement to do the federal government\u2019s bidding make our communities less safe and put police in a bad spot,\u201d he said. \u201cImmigration enforcement should be left to federal officials so our local police can keep Montanans safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake Eaton, a longtime Montana Republican strategist whose clients have included Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, told Fox News Digital that Forstag\u2019s lobbying record could undercut his effort to appeal to blue-collar and swing voters in the district, noting that issues involving transgender policies, schools and immigration \u201ccut across\u201d demographics.
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\nMeanwhile, Eaton described Forstag as emblematic of the leftward shift of Montana Democrats.
\n\u201cThere aren\u2019t a lot of moderate Democrats, if any, left,\u201d Eaton said. \u201cThe days of Brian Schweitzer, when you had Democrats that were pro-gun and pro-coal, they don\u2019t really exist anymore.\u201d
\nBut Eric Koch, a longtime Democratic consultant, rejected that criticism, arguing that Forstag\u2019s record fits his broader message about keeping government out of personal decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam\u2019s record is about keeping government out of your business,\u201d Koch told Fox News Digital. \u201cNo amount of divide-and-distract will change that.\u201d The consultant argued Republicans would rather focus on culture-war issues than Forstag\u2019s economic contrast with his Republican opponent Aaron Flint.
\nForstag will face Flint, an Army veteran and conservative radio host, in the Nov. 3 general election for the open western Montana seat currently held by GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke, who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election.\u00a0
\nForstag won the Democratic primary after defeating former 2024 gubernatorial nominee Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains, while Flint emerged from a Republican primary field that included Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, former state Sen. Al Olszewski and educator Ray Curtis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"