Are Montana Democrats Abandoning Their Own Candidate?

By Raymond Fernandez, August 6, 2026

Democrats are facing an unusual obstacle in their push to create as many paths to a Senate majority as possible this fall: a Democratic nominee who refuses to quit.

Democrat Alani Bankhead is set to face Republican Kurt Alme in Montana's Senate election — the kind of race that would be a reach for Democrats in a normal year but could be on the table in a favorable political environment this year. The problem is Democrats are rallying behind independent candidate Seth Bodnar, who they think actually makes that long shot a possibility. But with both candidates running, beating Alme is nearly impossible.

"[Republicans] know that if it's head-to-head between Bodnar and Alme, Bodnar wins the damn race," former Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who has endorsed Bodnar, told NOTUS.

Bankhead is livid with national party leadership, who she thinks is leaving her out to dry. In an interview with NOTUS, she accused Democratic leaders, nationally and in the state, of "using all their power and money to try to make Montanans accept the person that they pick." Bankhead alleges Tester has collaborated with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to circumvent the democratic process by backing a preferred candidate, an allegation Tester denies.

On top of that, it's not even clear what would happen if Bankhead were to withdraw before next week's Aug. 10 deadline. There's a legal dispute, which lawyers briefed the state Democratic Party on, over whether the party would have to name a replacement for the party line should Bankhead quit. Bankhead has said repeatedly she is not considering exiting the race, "short of God" telling her to drop out.

"Montana law says no matter what — [even] if I die — the state party still has to replace me on the ballot," Bankhead told NOTUS. "No, I'm not dropping out."

Bankhead, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and counterintelligence agent who won the state's Democratic primary with over 48,000 votes in June, faces myriad challenges. Bankhead's campaign had only raised just under $60,000 by the end of June compared to the more than $3.2 million Bodnar has raised since launching his campaign. Bankhead accuses the DSCC of "starving" her campaign of money.

There has been a run of Democratic Senate nominees withdrawing to clear the path for a two-way race with an independent candidate. Democratic nominees have dropped their campaigns in Nebraska, South Dakota and Idaho, giving a boost to independent candidates in each Republican-leaning state.

Bodnar, the former president of the University of Montana and a West Point-trained former Green Beret, entered the race as an independent in late March. He has secured the endorsement of major Democratic-aligned groups, including Montana Conservation Voters and VoteVets — the largest progressive veterans' organization in the U.S. The group previously supported Bankhead.

Bankhead described herself as being up against the entrenched party establishment. "Old guard political leaders want to stay in power and control, and they're trying to use the last bit of power that they have to wield their influence to maintain the status quo," she told NOTUS.

The DSCC referred NOTUS to the organization's comments to Semafor, where DSCC executive director Devan Barber said "The DSCC partners with viable campaigns who have a path to victory, which Ms. Bankhead does not."

Montana's Senate seat is open because Republican Sen. Steve Daines abruptly withdrew in March and endorsed Alme, who had filed to run the same day.