By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-08-11 12:58:08 | Updated at 2026-08-11 13:16:44
8 hours ago
No candidates dropped from the Montana U.S. Senate race on Monday as the August 10 deadline rolled past, making it a three-way race between Democrat Alani Bankhead, independent Seth Bodnar, and Republican Kurt Alme.
After intense pressure from Democrats for her to drop out of the race, Alani Bankhead did not exit the race by the August 10 deadline. In a statement on Monday, Senate Leadership Fund spokeswoman Chloe Smith praised Bankhead for her courageous stand against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Senate Leadership Fund thanks Alani Bankhead for displaying profound courage in the face of relentless harassment by Chuck Schumer’s thugs and allies,” she 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.”
As Breitbart News reported on Sunday, establishment Democrats reportedly began pressuring the family of Alani Bankhead in order to push her into dropping out of the Montana Senate race so independent Seth Bodnar can step in. In July, Seth Bodnar, who has the backing of former Democrat Montana Sen. Jon Tester, had been actively weighing whether or not to stay in the race prior to the August 10 deadline.
Over the weekend, NPR noted that Democrats have been scrambling to pressure Bankhead to leave the race in the hopes of paving the way for Bodnar.
“Bankhead won the state primary, but both voters and some prominent Democrats are pressuring her to drop out of the race to make room for a prominent independent candidate, Seth Bodnar, who has already raised more money than her and Republican Kurt Alme combined,” reported NPR.
“Since 2024, Republicans have held all of Montana’s federal seats. This spring, some prominent Montana Democrats started saying that the party’s brand is so weak here that the only way to beat a Republican is to back an independent candidate,” it added.
On Sunday, Matthew Foldi of the Washington Reporter posted on X that he came into possession of several leaked documents “from a dark money group showing how Democrats have an organized harassment campaign targeting” Bankhead’s family to secure her withdrawal from the race.
“The document is titled: ‘Montana Senate Seat: How to Help.’ It urges Democrats ‘who have relevant relationships’ to urge Bankhead to drop out of the race,” reported Foldi.
“The document goes on to list Bankhead’s father, mother, brother, stepdaughter, and friends as targets of the harassment campaign. It includes their names and information about their background,” he added.
