Montana Democrat Refuses to Quit Senate Race Before Deadline
Alani Bankhead told voters in Townsend she will stay on the ballot, despite pressure to clear the field for independent Seth Bodnar before Monday's withdrawal deadline.
Montana's Democratic Senate nominee, Alani Bankhead, says she will not drop out of the race ahead of Monday, Aug. 10, the deadline to remove names from the state's ballot.
Bankhead won the Democratic primary, but some voters and prominent Democrats are urging her to step aside so opposition to the Republican candidate can consolidate behind independent Seth Bodnar. At a campaign stop before about 70 people at the old Masonic Lodge in Townsend, roughly an hour south of Helena, every audience question was about the same thing, Montana Public Radio reported.
"Will you continue to show your strength as a leader by withdrawing from the race so that Democrats, independents and anti-MAGA voters can unify to beat Kurt Alme?" asked Cara Keleher.
"Thank you for coming, Cara. I really appreciate the question. I'm not going to drop out," Bankhead answered.
Democrats have stepped aside in three states this year — South Dakota, Idaho and Nebraska — to make way for independent candidates. Since 2024, Republicans have held all of Montana's federal seats, and some Montana Democrats began arguing this spring that the party's brand in the state is too weak to win without backing an independent.
The seat is open because Republican Sen. Steve Daines is retiring. The Republican nominee, Kurt Alme, left his post as U.S. attorney for Montana to run and has never held elected office. "Washington's reckless spending has left us with inflation and enormous debt," Alme said.
Bodnar, a former Green Beret, university president and corporate executive, said Friday he is staying in as well: "I am in this race until the very end." He supports abortion rights, opposes gun control, favors strong protections for public lands — about a third of Montana's territory — and says he backs stronger borders but not the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement is enforcing them.
Bankhead's campaign has raised $58,000, compared with $3.2 million for Bodnar and $1.9 million for Alme. If all three stay in, Alme is "almost guaranteed" to win, said Kal Munis, a political science professor at Montana State University. "Even if she were to only garner 10% of the vote in the state, that would just be disaster for Bodnar's hopes," Munis said.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
