The MSM loves to portray itself as the scrappy, rumpled news reporters who report “just the facts” and never, ever, are biased partisans. Which is why it is hilarious when its mask slips, and its true, hard left-wing and pro-Democrat nature is exposed.
Or, in this case, its bias becomes so obvious that it completely explodes in the face of any casual observer.
Which brings me to Politico’s new article reporting on the fake “independents” running for U.S. Senate:
Democrats vying for a pair of deep-red Senate seats are facing increasingly desperate calls from within their party to step aside for more promising independent candidates…If the Democrats stay on the ballot, it will be almost impossible to claw these seats away from Republicans in Mountain West states that President Donald Trump dominated in 2024.
The Democrats are running as independents because “(t)he party’s brand is so tarnished in their states that the 'D' label on the ballot line provides no viable path to victory.”
What follows is a supposedly straight news article strongly making the case for the validly elected Democrat nominees in certain states to drop out to better enable “The Democrats' Sneaky New Trick – The Indy Imitation Game.” Politico soberly reports that these Democrats “could imperil their party’s hopes of regaining Senate control in an already uphill cycle.” It writes that “(t)here’s broad agreement across the many factions of the Democratic Party that a crowded race relinquishes any hope of victory.” This includes supportive quotes from both a Bernie Bro and a Democrat who is from “the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way.” And it reports that both national Democrats and state Democrats favor these nominees stepping down.
Never change, Politico.
It goes almost without saying that if Politico were as confident as it claims to be regarding the Democrats' chances to flip the U.S. Senate in 2026, it wouldn’t be writing this article pressuring Democrat nominees to resign.
But let’s use it to check up on the races where Democrats running as fake independents are trying to sneak into the U.S. Senate. (Since my earlier column, which is linked above, Democrats have united behind the official Democrat in Mississippi.)
Idaho: Jim Risch / 62.6 percent Risch / Likely Republican
Three-term Republican Sen. Jim Risch is being challenged by independent Theodore B. "Todd" Achilles. Achilles is a former Democrat state representative who switched to run for Senate. Recently, David Roth, the Democrat nominee, followed his party marching orders and exited the race. Risch has a large lead in the only poll I could find, which has him at 55 percent to 7 percent for Achilles and 15 percent for Roth. Risch is sitting on a campaign kitty of $3.54 million; Achilles has more than $692,000.
Montana: Steve Daines (retiring) / Likely Republican
Republican Sen. Steve Daines initiated his own trick to retire on the last day of filing and make his favored candidate Kurt Alme, the U.S. Attorney, the GOP nominee. Alme is being challenged by independent Seth Bodnar, a former Green Beret and President of the University of Montana, who has the backing of the last two Democrat senators, Jon Tester and Max Baucus. The Democrat is Alani Bankhead, who is a far left “progressive.” Immediately after the primary, Nancy Keenan, a former Montana Democratic Party chair, called Bankhead to ask her to step down. Now, the left is sending out text messages urging voters to tell Bankhead to withdraw and running ads questioning her credibility. Bankhead has only $21,000 in the bank, while Bodnar had $1 million and Alme $1.4 million. RCP has no polling on their site, but the Poll Max average has Alme leading with 44.1 percent of the vote to 25.1 percent for Bodnar, with Bankhead trailing. The deadline for Bankhead to drop out is August 10, but the Republican Montana secretary of state has said he will require Democrats to replace Bankhead if she withdraws.
Nebraska: Pete Ricketts / 62.6 percent Ricketts / Likely Republican
Independent Dan Osborn is running again for Senate, this time challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts. Ricketts previously served as a popular governor, was appointed to the Senate, and then won a special election. Osborn previously challenged the other senator, Deb Fischer, in 2024, and he overperformed the normal Democrat showing. In 2026, the Democrat nominee in Nebraska obeyed the dictates of her party and stepped down after being selected. Osborn is backed by the same “really ideological” crazed socialist “vetters” of Graham Platner. The Poll Max average has Ricketts leading only 48.4 percent to 43.7 percent, although all the polling is done by Democrat firms, including the Osborn firm. Ricketts’ has $6 million and Osborn has $2.4 million, cash on hand.
South Dakota: Mike Rounds / 65.74 percent Rounds / Likely Republican
Sen. Mike Rounds is being challenged by independent Brian Bengs. Rounds previously served as a popular governor. Bengs is an enlisted U.S. Navy veteran and retired U.S. Air Force officer, who previously taught law and policy topics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Bengs was also the 2022 Democrat candidate for the Senate. Julian Beaudion is the official Democrat nominee who “selfishly” is refusing to step down. He is an African American former member of the Highway Patrol and small business owner who is rather left-wing – he organized a George Floyd march. The Poll Max average has Rounds at 54.9 percent against his opponents. Rounds has a campaign fund of $2.7 million; neither of his opponents is competitive at this point. If Beaudion doesn’t drop out before Tuesday, he is on the ballot and this race is over.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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