A Democrat Campaign to Get Their Montana Senate Nominee Off the Ballot Doesn't Go According to Plan

Democrats have spent the last several years giving insincere lectures about "respecting democracy," but they've more than made clear in recent election cycles that they have no qualms about disrespecting the will of the people even in their own party if they think they can get a win out of it.

The most notable example, of course, was Democrats forcing then-President Joe Biden out of the presidential race via an intense pressure campaign after his disastrous June 2024 debate performance. In place of Biden, they installed then-VP Kamala Harris as the nominee, someone who did not earn a single presidential primary vote.

Then there was scandal-plagued Maine Democrat Senate nominee Graham Platner, who was seemingly the Teflon candidate but who was strong-armed off the ticket by the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and even some of his staunchest Senate supporters after allegations of sexual assault. Platner's replacement, former state Sen. Troy Jackson, did not receive any primary votes for the nomination. He was picked by Democrat delegates at a nominating convention in late July.

It is with that in mind that we turn to Montana, where the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Steve Daines has gotten rather interesting.

There are four nominees in the race: former Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme (R), Air Force veteran Alani Bankhead (D), former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar (I), and pharmacist and businessman Kyle Austin (L).

Alme has been endorsed by Daines, who had previously decided to run but then filed to take his name off the ballot just minutes after Alme filed to run, on the last day of candidate filing in Montana. Daines, who reportedly did it to keep Democrats from recruiting a top-tier candidate and making it an expensive race, was criticized in the aftermath over the move, including by some Republicans. But it would be what Democrats eventually tried to do to their nominee that generated many more headlines.

Democrats indeed do not have a big-name candidate as their nominee (who won in the June 2 primary). Bankhead is a relative unknown, and her campaign is not exactly flush with cash. That is because Bodnar, who also filed on the last day of filing, is being heavily supported by Democrats and has been the beneficiary of their fundraisers and donations (though he has not been formally endorsed by the DSCC) in a scene reminiscent of Dan Osborn in Nebraska.

Democrats in the state have leaned in heavily on Bankhead, who has been shunned by the DSCC, to drop out, fearing having both her and Bodnar's names on the election ballot will split the ticket and make Alme's path easier. Monday was the deadline to drop out, and in the days preceding it, even more pressure was put on Bankhead to withdraw. What did she do? She told them to pound sand:

Alani Bankhead made certain with hours to go before Monday’s deadline that she would not step aside to give independent Seth Bodnar — who is backed by former Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) — a clearer run at Republican Kurt Alme.
“I’ll never bow down,” Bankhead said during a press conference ahead of the 7 p.m. Eastern Time deadline to drop out. “I am in this race to win it and I am staying through Nov. 3.”
[...]
It’s caused a significant headache for Democrats, who have had some success getting their candidates to drop out for independents in other deep-red states carried by President Donald Trump by wide margins in 2024. Democrats in Idaho, South Dakota and Nebraska have all dropped their bids, though legal challenges could still complicate some of those efforts.

CNN: Democratic nominee for US Senate in Montana Alani Bankhead reiterates she isn’t dropping out in a press conference

“I am in this race to win it and I am staying through November 3.”

(The deadline to drop out is today) pic.twitter.com/ihNfFvuMh7
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) August 10, 2026

Bankhead standing her ground was a massive blow to Montana Democrats, who seemed so confident down the homestretch that she would drop out that this happened:

🚨 The Montana Democratic Party tweeted — and then immediately deleted — a post initially about “respecting Alani Bankhead’s decision to suspend her campaign” for #MTSEN 🚨 https://t.co/egXXosoLgv pic.twitter.com/nL4KUeoIf1
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) August 10, 2026

Bankhead's decision to stay in amid a pressure campaign that allegedly included attempts at harassing family members earned her some praise from the GOP's Senate Leadership Fund super PAC:

“Senate Leadership Fund thanks Alani Bankhead for displaying profound courage in the face of relentless harassment by Chuck Schumer’s thugs and allies,” [spokeswoman Chloe Smith] said. “Schumer’s desperate attempt to undermine democracy and install his preferred candidate has once again failed, and Montanans will overwhelmingly reject this kind of dirty politics when they elect Kurt Alme as their next U.S. Senator in November.”

The GOP maintaining control of the Senate is crucial, especially in light of the threats to impeach President Trump. But anyone who refuses to bow to Schumer's War Machine after winning the primary fair and square has earned some respect, even from her political opposition.

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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