Dr. Al Olszewski, left, listens as Aaron Flint speaks during the Montana GOP primary debate for the state’s western congressional district on Tuesday, April 21 in Bozeman. (Jordan Hansen / Daily Montanan)
BOZEMAN — For an hour-and-a-half during a Tuesday night Republican primary debate, Aaron Flint, a former talk show radio host running for the state’s Western Congressional district, sounded like he was back on the air.
Flint debated Dr. Al Olszewski, the only other Republican running for the seat who participated at the Calvary Chapel in Bozeman. Current Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen — who is also running for the seat — did not attend the event, nor did Ray Curtis.
Instead, Flint took the microphone and sold himself as the Donald J. Trump-endorsed candidate who will fight for the common Montanan. Flint mentioned the current president almost two dozen times during the 90-minute debate, specifically referencing the endorsement seven times, and seems to be using a similar populist appeal that put Trump in office twice.
Weaving in jabs at Olszewski’s views on healthcare and Iran, Flint also told the audience that the longtime Flathead Republican was his friend and even said “love you brother” at one point during the debate.
Olszewski — as well as Senate President Matt Regier, who moderated the debate — were both frequent guests on Flint’s radio show, Montana Talks. Olszewski pointed to his 29 years in the district during the debate and said he was running because interference from the federal government is an issue.
“I fundamentally believe that our federal government and our state government is one of the reasons that we are having the troubles that we’re having,” Olszewski said. “There is a fundamental overreach of the federal government and of the state government, and whether it’s through taxes or regulation, they are keeping us from being more free. They’re keeping us from being able to really promote our families, and they’re keeping us from making things more affordable.”
By the end of the debate, Olszewski agreed with most of Flint’s positions with few exceptions.
From the jump, Flint stayed crisp in his delivery, fitting stories and points in short segments reminiscent of his radio show.
Calling the seat “critical” — and casting himself as a similar candidate to U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, a fellow military veteran — he said America needs fighters. Olszewski spoke at length about how the federal government is out-of-touch with states.
Flint said Democrats and “far left socialists” are coming for Montana jobs, guns and freedoms and that Republican candidates are the only choice to avoid America disintegrating. He added that “right now” people need “to decide whether this country remains a free Republic for another 250 years, or whether we go in another direction altogether.”
Trump, in fact, has been criticized for pushing the country to more authoritarian rule, with millions across the country attending “No Kings” rallies built entirely on that premise. However, Flint shifted the blame on the country’s problems to the Democrats, saying they’re the reason for the poor economy, increases in crime, and he accused the party of trying to flood the ballot box with a rush of immigrants from other countries.
During the debate, Flint zeroed in on a popular target from his radio days, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, as he purposely mispronounced her first name, which drew laughs from the crowd during the event, as he said her name three times in rapid succession, overpronouncing her first name.
Flint gave a full-throated endorsement of resource extraction, mentioning closed logging mills and potential mining areas, such as one near Libby, that have been the target of massive public meetings and significant political debate.
“These far left extremists think they can get a foothold in western Montana and take the entire state down with it,” Flint said. “And you know what they’re going to do? They’re going to tear down the dams, they’re going to push gun control. They’re going to try to flood the borders again. And they sure won’t allow the president of the United States to deport the criminal illegal aliens who invaded this country.”
He also questioned why union members who are Democrats hadn’t been in support of mining jobs, specifically in the case of the Sibanye Stillwater mine. That mine produces palladium, which, among many applications, is used in catalytic converters. Russia also produces the most of any country.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, exporters there dumped their supplies of the mineral, forcing the Stillwater mine to cut 700 jobs, according to the U.S. Government. Flint blamed former U.S. President Joe Biden for this, saying he has a cousin that works at the mine.
“Because of Joe Biden’s green energy mandates, green EV mandates, and then on top of that, Joe Biden and the Democrats allowed the Russians to dump palladium into the U.S. market, killing 700 mining jobs in Montana, and then using our money to kill people in Ukraine,” Flint said.
Olszewski said he wants to see natural resource jobs, but done so in a way that is both safe and good for the communities those areas are around.
“We need to unlock the treasures that we have in all of Western Montana counties, and that is natural resource jobs,” Olszewski said. “But if we’re going to have natural resource jobs, we have to make sure that we’re doing it in a 21st Century sustainable way. We got to make sure that those who are doing it are good stewards of our environment and create good, safe working environments.”
Both candidates harped on, “waste, fraud and abuse,” with Flint especially focusing on the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is generally regarded as America’s “soft power” arm for pushing the country’s interests in foreign nations.
Republicans have accused the foreign aid programs of essentially being a money laundering operation and even going so far as to say it was involved with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The money that’s being sent overseas was being used to go directly against American interests. So very clearly there are cuts that need to be made,” Flint said.
Flint also said that the country can’t cut its way out of the national debt.
“We’ve also got to grow our way out of this problem,” he said.
Trades jobs, in his eyes, will solve that problem, and both candidates on the stage advocated for dismantling the Department of Education further, a priority of the Trump administration.
“I was at the Montana knife company about a month ago in Missoula. He’s got 120 employees and hired a high school kid in Missoula in 2020,” Flint said. “That kid’s now making six figures. No student loan debt, no college degree, that’s what we want to see right here in Montana.”
Olszewski pointed to his Montana Legislative experience – he was in both the House and Senate – as a reason to vote for him. He also was critical of the Iran war, but said he trusted Trump knew what he was doing.
“I’m not so happy with what’s going on in the Iran war,” Olszewski said. “You know, I’m not a warrior. I’m a physician from the military that fixed military people who didn’t come back from war whole. And that’s the problem with war. That’s what my perspective is, is that countries can win wars, but people do not.”
Flint, also a veteran, in response pointed to a Bozeman Chronicle article where Olszewski said he’d support moves by Congress to give it a greater say in whether the U.S. goes to war, including potentially modifying the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
Flint said Olszewski appeared to be “seriously undermining President Trump” in the middle of the negotiations.
“In fact, your comments seemed so anti-Trump and undermining the Commander in Chief, that in the comments in the section, most of the people thought you were a Democrat, and they were accusing you of Trump derangement syndrome,” Flint said. “I almost wanted to jump in and say, ‘No, he’s my friend, he’s a Republican.’”
Montana’s primaries are slated for June 2.
by Jordan Hansen, Daily Montanan
April 22, 2026
by Jordan Hansen, Daily Montanan
April 22, 2026
BOZEMAN — For an hour-and-a-half during a Tuesday night Republican primary debate, Aaron Flint, a former talk show radio host running for the state’s Western Congressional district, sounded like he was back on the air.
Flint debated Dr. Al Olszewski, the only other Republican running for the seat who participated at the Calvary Chapel in Bozeman. Current Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen — who is also running for the seat — did not attend the event, nor did Ray Curtis.
Instead, Flint took the microphone and sold himself as the Donald J. Trump-endorsed candidate who will fight for the common Montanan. Flint mentioned the current president almost two dozen times during the 90-minute debate, specifically referencing the endorsement seven times, and seems to be using a similar populist appeal that put Trump in office twice.
Weaving in jabs at Olszewski’s views on healthcare and Iran, Flint also told the audience that the longtime Flathead Republican was his friend and even said “love you brother” at one point during the debate.
Olszewski — as well as Senate President Matt Regier, who moderated the debate — were both frequent guests on Flint’s radio show, Montana Talks. Olszewski pointed to his 29 years in the district during the debate and said he was running because interference from the federal government is an issue.
“I fundamentally believe that our federal government and our state government is one of the reasons that we are having the troubles that we’re having,” Olszewski said. “There is a fundamental overreach of the federal government and of the state government, and whether it’s through taxes or regulation, they are keeping us from being more free. They’re keeping us from being able to really promote our families, and they’re keeping us from making things more affordable.”
By the end of the debate, Olszewski agreed with most of Flint’s positions with few exceptions.
From the jump, Flint stayed crisp in his delivery, fitting stories and points in short segments reminiscent of his radio show.
Calling the seat “critical” — and casting himself as a similar candidate to U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, a fellow military veteran — he said America needs fighters. Olszewski spoke at length about how the federal government is out-of-touch with states.
Flint said Democrats and “far left socialists” are coming for Montana jobs, guns and freedoms and that Republican candidates are the only choice to avoid America disintegrating. He added that “right now” people need “to decide whether this country remains a free Republic for another 250 years, or whether we go in another direction altogether.”
Trump, in fact, has been criticized for pushing the country to more authoritarian rule, with millions across the country attending “No Kings” rallies built entirely on that premise. However, Flint shifted the blame on the country’s problems to the Democrats, saying they’re the reason for the poor economy, increases in crime, and he accused the party of trying to flood the ballot box with a rush of immigrants from other countries.
During the debate, Flint zeroed in on a popular target from his radio days, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, as he purposely mispronounced her first name, which drew laughs from the crowd during the event, as he said her name three times in rapid succession, overpronouncing her first name.
Flint gave a full-throated endorsement of resource extraction, mentioning closed logging mills and potential mining areas, such as one near Libby, that have been the target of massive public meetings and significant political debate.
“These far left extremists think they can get a foothold in western Montana and take the entire state down with it,” Flint said. “And you know what they’re going to do? They’re going to tear down the dams, they’re going to push gun control. They’re going to try to flood the borders again. And they sure won’t allow the president of the United States to deport the criminal illegal aliens who invaded this country.”
He also questioned why union members who are Democrats hadn’t been in support of mining jobs, specifically in the case of the Sibanye Stillwater mine. That mine produces palladium, which, among many applications, is used in catalytic converters. Russia also produces the most of any country.
Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, exporters there dumped their supplies of the mineral, forcing the Stillwater mine to cut 700 jobs, according to the U.S. Government. Flint blamed former U.S. President Joe Biden for this, saying he has a cousin that works at the mine.
“Because of Joe Biden’s green energy mandates, green EV mandates, and then on top of that, Joe Biden and the Democrats allowed the Russians to dump palladium into the U.S. market, killing 700 mining jobs in Montana, and then using our money to kill people in Ukraine,” Flint said.
Olszewski said he wants to see natural resource jobs, but done so in a way that is both safe and good for the communities those areas are around.
“We need to unlock the treasures that we have in all of Western Montana counties, and that is natural resource jobs,” Olszewski said. “But if we’re going to have natural resource jobs, we have to make sure that we’re doing it in a 21st Century sustainable way. We got to make sure that those who are doing it are good stewards of our environment and create good, safe working environments.”
Both candidates harped on, “waste, fraud and abuse,” with Flint especially focusing on the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is generally regarded as America’s “soft power” arm for pushing the country’s interests in foreign nations.
Republicans have accused the foreign aid programs of essentially being a money laundering operation and even going so far as to say it was involved with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The money that’s being sent overseas was being used to go directly against American interests. So very clearly there are cuts that need to be made,” Flint said.
Flint also said that the country can’t cut its way out of the national debt.
“We’ve also got to grow our way out of this problem,” he said.
Trades jobs, in his eyes, will solve that problem, and both candidates on the stage advocated for dismantling the Department of Education further, a priority of the Trump administration.
“I was at the Montana knife company about a month ago in Missoula. He’s got 120 employees and hired a high school kid in Missoula in 2020,” Flint said. “That kid’s now making six figures. No student loan debt, no college degree, that’s what we want to see right here in Montana.”
Olszewski pointed to his Montana Legislative experience – he was in both the House and Senate – as a reason to vote for him. He also was critical of the Iran war, but said he trusted Trump knew what he was doing.
“I’m not so happy with what’s going on in the Iran war,” Olszewski said. “You know, I’m not a warrior. I’m a physician from the military that fixed military people who didn’t come back from war whole. And that’s the problem with war. That’s what my perspective is, is that countries can win wars, but people do not.”
Flint, also a veteran, in response pointed to a Bozeman Chronicle article where Olszewski said he’d support moves by Congress to give it a greater say in whether the U.S. goes to war, including potentially modifying the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
Flint said Olszewski appeared to be “seriously undermining President Trump” in the middle of the negotiations.
“In fact, your comments seemed so anti-Trump and undermining the Commander in Chief, that in the comments in the section, most of the people thought you were a Democrat, and they were accusing you of Trump derangement syndrome,” Flint said. “I almost wanted to jump in and say, ‘No, he’s my friend, he’s a Republican.’”
Montana’s primaries are slated for June 2.
Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Jordan Hansen is a reporter with the Daily Montanan, covering state politics, transportation and agriculture. Jordan was previously a reporter at the Everett Herald, Missoulian and the Montana Standard.
Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
DEMOCRACY TOOLKIT
© Daily Montanan, 2026
v1.121.0
The Daily Montanan is a nonprofit, nonpartisan source for trusted news, commentary and insight into statewide policy and politics beneath the Big Sky.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© Daily Montanan, 2026
Flint sells populist view during GOP debate, Olszewski says federal government the issue – Daily Montanan
Leave a Comment
