Vance visits Belgrade, stumps for Alme and Flint

BELGRADE — Vice President JD Vance headlined a group of Republican state and federal officials stumping for Congressional candidates Aaron Flint and Kurt Alme at the Bozeman International Airport on Monday morning.

The stop by Vance is part of Trump 47 Committee events — an effort by Republicans to stump for their candidates in battleground states. President Donald Trump came to Kalispell on Oct. 14. Flint is running in a tightly contested race for Montana’s western Congressional seat, while Alme faces three challengers in Montana’s open U.S. Senate seat. 

About 500 people packed into the hanger, though organizers did not immediately have a crowd estimate.

Vance spoke for about a half-hour with a large flag displayed by two cranes behind him. He focused on giving “sovereignty” back to the American people. 

“If the Trump movement is about anything, it’s not just about beating Democrats,” Vance said. “As fun as that is, our movement is about restoring sovereignty to you, to the people who make this country.”

Vance’s remarks ranged from farmland to DEI. He also touched on race, the economy and his time in the military. 

“Sovereignty means that American homes and American farmland ought by right belong to the American people,” Vance said. “We have ended the tyranny of DEI and racial discrimination in jobs and in universities because I happen to believe that real sovereignty starts with the individual, and no person can be truly free when their government or their employer cares more about so-called white privilege than about promoting the American dream.”

He added: “You have a rare opportunity to vote for Montana Patriots who believe in real sovereignty.”

That message resonated with some, including Laura Doucette, an attendee at the event.

“Amazing experience,” Doucette said. “Just made me proud to be an American to be in a small setting like that, and just hear the values we believe in.”

Many speakers’ remarks also focused heavily on the border with Mexico, with Montana’s junior Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican, claimed there hadn’t been any “border crossings” since Trump took office. 

While the Pew Research organization has said that border crossings are at an historic low, between October 2024 and September 2025, there were 237,538 crossings according to the U.S. Border Patrol. 

Sheehy also pointed to protests in Paris, which he blamed on migrants moving to Europe.

“They literally have taken over a culture, they’ve taken over economies, and they don’t answer to anybody except themselves,” Sheehy said. “And that’s what can happen here.”

Flint, running in the state’s western district, is in a competitive race with Sam Forstag, which two analysts have recently moved to a toss-up race. Alme, meanwhile, is favored in the U.S. Senate election against independent Seth Bodnar, Democrat Alani Bankhead, and Libertarian Kyle Austin.

Bodnar was not mentioned by name during the event, though Vance did say that in the Senate race, Montanans “have not one, but two Democrats on the ballot.”

Both Flint and Alme gave their last-minute campaign pitches, which hit issues of law and justice.

“In Montana, we don’t defund the police. We back the blue, and that’s not just a promise,” Alme said. “That’s my record.”

Flint also highlighted his military experience, which has been common among Montana politicians — Sheehy and Rep. Ryan Zinke are both veterans as well. 

“I watched my daughter born over a computer screen while I was deployed over in the Horn of Africa,” Flint said. “And then came back home and got to fight behind the microphone,” referring to his time as a conservative talk-show radio host.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, state Attorney General Austin Knudsen, outgoing U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Zinke all spoke during the event as well.

Gianforte, Knudsen and Zinke criticized Forstag for his time working for the ACLU and moving to Montana from Portland. Forstag moved to Montana in 2012.

“He’s a friend of Bernie Sanders and AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York), he’s for Medicare for all, the Green New Deal, and free higher education for everybody,” Zinke said. “Is that common sense or crazy?”

In the middle of Vance’s address, a woman briefly interrupted by yelling “liars,” and officers escorted her out of the hangar without further incident, said Koula Black, a spokesperson for Gallatin County. Black said the woman was not cited.

Keila Szpaller and Micah Drew contributed to this report.