A former lobbyist running for Congress in Montana as a Democrat is under fire from his Republican opponent for his advocacy for a Missoula sales tax.
Sam Forstag, who Republican Aaron Flint is deriding as a “Portland lobbyist [who] is a typical socialist, wanting more of somebody else’s money.” Flint held a press conference highlighting both Forstag’s previous lobbying in support of SB 551 in 2023. That bill would allow Montana’s largest cities to implement a sales tax; Flint also spotlighted Forstag’s previous lobbying in support of SB 548, which would eliminate limits on local property tax increases.
“Sam Forstag lobbied to make Montanans pay higher property taxes, more income taxes, and create a sales tax while lining his pockets with your tax dollars,” Flint explained. Forstag, a former lobbyist for left-wing groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was paid tens of thousands of dollars for his lobbying work over several years. “Montanans are working hard and still struggling to pay their bills. They deserve to keep more of what they earn. But Sam Forstag thinks the government should take more of your money. My plan is to cut taxes for everyone, especially working families, seniors, and veterans and stop taxpayer dollars from funding lobbyists.”
On the campaign trail, Forstag also campaigns against the GOP’s signature tax cut law, the Working Families Tax Cuts, saying that “these are the cuts that we are all paying for right now, as Montanans, as working people, and that we are not seeing any benefit for.” While Forstag is projecting a moderate image to voters in his race’s home stretch, Flint argued that his endorsements from Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) aligned Forstag closely with the far-left group.
During Flint’s press conference, he presented an alternative vision to Forstag’s history of lobbying for tax increases on Montanans; Flint’s case is likely to find purchase with voters at a time when candidates of both parties are focusing on affordability issues.
Flint laid out a plan to slash taxes for Montanans and to “defund taxpayer-funded lobbying by banning local governments from receiving federal grants if they hire lobbyists with taxpayer dollars.”
Flint, a longtime military veteran, also wants to “establish a federal gas tax holiday until the war with Iran is conclusively over and energy trade is flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz at baseline January 2026 levels”; “eliminate taxes on military pensions”; “eliminate the death tax on family farms and ranches,” and to “make permanent no tax on tips and overtime, and tax relief for seniors on Social Security.” Those benefits currently expire in 2028.
