Sam Forstag: podcast appearances and interviews

Sam Forstag was born on May 23, 1994, and is an American labor union leader and former smokejumper affiliated with the Montana US Forest Service. Raised mainly by a single mother who worked as an ICU nurse in Portland, Oregon, he moved to Montana in 2012. Forstag attended the University of Montana, where he studied philosophy and political science and was elected student body president. After graduating in 2017, he worked as a wildland firefighter for eight years, including four years as a smokejumper, to pay off student loans. During the off-seasons, he served as an organizer and lobbyist for the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and for Central House Strategies, representing the city of Missoula. In 2025, he became Vice President of the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 60, representing around 800 United States Forest Service workers. Forstag is the Democratic nominee in the 2026 election for Montana's 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he will compete against Republican and Libertarian candidates. His campaign emphasizes protecting public land and addressing economic issues such as housing and healthcare affordability. He has received endorsements from union groups, national progressive leaders including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and his aunt, Representative Susie Lee.