[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS
Legislative Integrity Monitor
Goblin House Intelligence
Congress → Officials → Ryan Zinke

Ryan Zinke

Republican · Representative, MT ·1 ·Since 2025-01-03
Score Components
47 MODERATE
Connection Density 20%
41 → 8
Donor Influence 15%
0 → 0
Silence Risk 25%
0 → 0
Contradiction Risk 25%
87 → 22
Intelligence Volume 15%
86 → 13
Constituency Deviation 0%
35 → 0
Voting Misalignment 0%
0 → 0
% = weight in composite score · Raw component 0–100 × weight = weighted contribution (→) · Sum of contributions = overall score. Hover a row for details.
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Cook Partisan Voting Index: R+8 (shifted R+5 since last redistricting)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: average commute time: 19.3 minutes (vs. 26.4 nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: public transit utilization: 0.6% (vs. 5% nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: unemployment rate: 3.4% (vs. 3.5% nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median rent: $1,174 (vs. $1,163 nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median home value: $466,200 (vs. $303,400 nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: White (Non-Hispanic) population share: 86.4%
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median age: 40.3 (largest cohort 20-29 at 14.3%)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: bachelor's degree or higher: 38.8% (vs. 33.7% nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: homeownership rate: 67.8% (vs. 65.5% nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: poverty rate: 6% (vs. 12.4% nationally)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median household income: $73,598 (vs. $37,585 national median)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: population: 564,861 (2024 LegisLetter ACS)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Montana CI-128 — Right to Abortion Constitutional Amendment (2024) (2024) — passed, margin 57% Yes — 43% No
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 44-45 (share 0.12)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 72 (share 0.13)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 62 (share 0.16)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Stillwater Mining / Sibanye-Stillwater (platinum and palladium) (2000 employees)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Glacier National Park / Yellowstone National Park / U.S. Forest Service (5000 employees)
secondary ✓ Verified
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Benefis Health System / Providence St. Patrick Hospital / Logan Health (7000 employees)
secondary ✓ Verified
Troy Downing colleague Both serve Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives — Downing as MT-02 (2025-present) and Zinke as MT-01. Zinke is listed in known entities.
Scott McEwen co-author / publishing Scott McEwen co-authored the book 'American Patriot: The Life of Ryan Zinke' with Ryan Zinke.
Energy Transfer Partners donor 2023-2024: $14,210 via individual contributions — Zinke's third-largest contributor. Energy Transfer is a major pipeline company with interests in energy…
ConocoPhillips donor 2023-2024: $32,425 via individual ($27,425) and PAC ($5,000) — Zinke's single largest contributor. ConocoPhillips has significant oil and gas operations in…
AIPAC / United Democracy Project donor 2023-2024: $15,650 via individual contributions. AIPAC then halted fundraising for Zinke after he voted against the standalone Israel aid bill (H.R. 8034) in…
Palmer Luckey government_meeting Met April 12, 2017 to discuss border wall building plans
BillVoteDateAlignment
An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow early childhood… Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United… Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
Retire through Ownership Act Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
PROOF Act Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
Water Resources Development Act Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
National Fraud Enforcement Division Act Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
Ratepayer Protection Act Yea 2026-09-16 unknown
GUARD Act Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Providing for consideration of the bills H.R. 9576 and H.R. 10326, providing… Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United… Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes… Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers… Nay 2026-09-15 unknown
Providing for consideration of the bills H.R. 9576 and H.R. 10326, providing… Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Whistleblower Protection Act Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in… Yea 2026-09-15 unknown
National Wildlife Refuge System Invasive Species Strike Team Act Yea 2026-09-14 unknown
Local Communities & Bird Habitat Stewardship Act Yea 2026-09-14 unknown
Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act Yea 2026-09-03 unknown
Protecting Domestic Mining Act Yea 2026-09-02 unknown
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require… Yea 2026-09-02 unknown
Providing for consideration of the bills (H.R. 1501, H.R. 9436, and H.R… Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
In the matter of allegations relating to Representative Chuck Edwards Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
Providing for consideration of the bills (H.R. 1501, H.R. 9436, and H.R… Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
To amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to extend the time period… Nay 2026-09-01 unknown
AGOA Extension Act Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
To amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to extend the time period… Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
Providing for the condemnation and denouncement of socialism in all its forms… Yea 2026-09-01 unknown
Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act Yea 2026-08-31 unknown
Last contradiction analysis: Never
platform_vs_vote 90/100
Platform: "Zinke campaigned as a fiscal conservative and 'America First' Republican, and as Interior Secretary he frequently warned about fiscal responsibility. He touted the removal of public lands sales from the OBBBA as a…
[ Show full platform position ]
Zinke campaigned as a fiscal conservative and 'America First' Republican, and as Interior Secretary he frequently warned about fiscal responsibility. He touted the removal of public lands sales from the OBBBA as a signature achievement: 'I was never going to back down when it came to public land sales.'
"
Vote: on "Zinke voted yea on the OBBBA (H.R. 1) on both May 22 and July 3, 2025. The CBO projected the bill…"
Zinke campaigned as a fiscal conservative and touted his success in removing public lands sales from the OBBBA, yet voted for a bill the CBO projected would add $3.4 trillion to the deficit — while making no mention of the deficit impact in his press release. He claimed the bill 'makes Medicaid and SNAP stronger'…
[ Show full analysis ]
Zinke campaigned as a fiscal conservative and touted his success in removing public lands sales from the OBBBA, yet voted for a bill the CBO projected would add $3.4 trillion to the deficit — while making no mention of the deficit impact in his press release. He claimed the bill 'makes Medicaid and SNAP stronger' while it cut approximately $1 trillion from Medicaid. The Flathead Beacon called this a betrayal of Montana values. His removal of the public lands provision gave him political cover to vote for a bill that was otherwise catastrophic for the federal balance sheet — directly contradicting his fiscal-conservative brand.
statement_vs_disclosure 90/100
Platform: "Zinke was a career Navy SEAL who took an oath to the Constitution and served his country for 23 years. After leaving Congress, he returned to win MT-01 in 2022."
Vote: on "The Department of Interior Inspector General found that Zinke, as Secretary, knowingly misled…"
Zinke's career as a decorated Navy SEAL and his pledge to serve with integrity are directly undercut by the Interior Department Inspector General's findings that he 'misused his office to advance a commercial development project,' 'knowingly made false statements to federal investigators,' and 'lied to ethics…
[ Show full analysis ]
Zinke's career as a decorated Navy SEAL and his pledge to serve with integrity are directly undercut by the Interior Department Inspector General's findings that he 'misused his office to advance a commercial development project,' 'knowingly made false statements to federal investigators,' and 'lied to ethics officials' — resulting in his resignation in 2019 after at least six federal ethics investigations. The contrast between his oath as a military officer and his documented ethical violations as a cabinet secretary is among the starkest of any sitting member of Congress.
statement_vs_disclosure 60/100
Platform: "Zinke claims to represent all Montanans and has an official website page for requesting meetings. He held a 'statewide tele-townhall' in May 2025 and posted on social media about border security at a 2023 town hall."
Vote: on "By summer 2025, Zinke was refusing to hold in-person town halls. The Billings Gazette published a…"
Zinke's official website invites constituents to request meetings and he claims to be accessible, yet by summer 2025 he was refusing to hold in-person town halls, joining the entire Montana GOP delegation in avoiding public constituent forums under orders from Republican leadership. The Montana Democratic Party…
[ Show full analysis ]
Zinke's official website invites constituents to request meetings and he claims to be accessible, yet by summer 2025 he was refusing to hold in-person town halls, joining the entire Montana GOP delegation in avoiding public constituent forums under orders from Republican leadership. The Montana Democratic Party organized 'Empty Seat Town Halls' to protest his absence, and the Billings Gazette editorial page called him a 'coward.'
Last silence detection: Never
No active silences
No donor interests mapped
TopicPriorityAlignmentDeviation
Government Accountability & Ethics 60 35 55
Israel, Foreign Aid & America First Foreign Policy 65 60 35
Health Care Access & Rural Hospitals 82 55 30
Education, School Choice & Parental Rights 72 74 26
Agriculture, Ranching & Rural Economy 90 75 25
Second Amendment & Hunting Rights 85 78 22
Public Lands, Energy Development & Access 92 80 20
Taxes, Cost of Living & Small Business 80 70 20
Veterans Affairs & Military 78 82 18
Wildfire Prevention & Forest Management 85 88 12
Border Security & Immigration Enforcement 88 92 8
No platform commitments archived
No committee memberships recorded
Scoring Methodology

The Capture Risk Score is a composite 0–100 index measuring potential regulatory capture of elected officials. It is computed from seven weighted components:

ComponentWeightSignal
Contradiction Risk30%Stated positions contradicted by the record (recent findings boosted)
Donor Influence20%Distinct documented donors (FEC Schedule A PACs); inferred donors do not count
Connection Density20%Mapped relationships to lobbyists, contractors, interest groups; donor links excluded
Silence Risk15%Topics where donors have interests but the official is silent
Intelligence Volume15%Documented facts from verified sources
Constituency Deviation0%Shown, not weighted — a model estimate, not a record
Voting Misalignment0%Shown, not weighted — needs platform commitments almost nobody has; the roll-call record on /votes is the vote signal

Each component is the member's standing among all scored members of Congress, and the weighted sum is the overall score. Tiers are ranks: Critical is the top 5%, High the next 10%, Elevated the next 20%, Moderate the next 30%, and Low the rest.

Officials without at least 2 documented facts, 1 contradiction analysis, 1 voting record, or 1 constituency baseline are marked Insufficient Evidence and excluded from numeric ranking.

Contradiction findings from the last 180 days receive a recency boost. High-severity contradictions (score ≥ 70) receive additional weight.

Full methodology: /congress/methodology

[PUBLIC COST ESTIMATE]
Documented financial relationships span 0 money flow chains, while 1 elected official holds documented connections.
0Money Chains
0Traced Hops
Connected Officials
Calculation Methodology

Contract values are summed from documented money flow chains where this entity appears as a source or destination node. Amounts are drawn from USASpending.gov, FEC filings, SEC EDGAR, or LD-2 lobbying registrations.

Donor contributions aggregate documented amounts from the donor_interests table, sourced from FEC individual and PAC contribution filings.

Connected officials are elected officials in our database with a mapped relationship (lobbying, board membership, campaign contribution, etc.) to this entity.

Annualised flow represents the total documented dollar amount traced through money flow hops involving this entity. Where hop-level amounts are unavailable, the chain-level documented total is used as a conservative upper bound.

All figures are drawn from public filings. Estimates are conservative — undisclosed transactions, dark money, and vanish-point hops are excluded from totals. This is a minimum documented floor, not a ceiling.

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