Kurt Alme comes out on top in Montana Senate race

Republican Kurt Alme emerged victorious in Montana’s Senate race Tuesday night, beating Democrat Alani Bankhead and independent Seth Bodnar to succeed outgoing Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT).The race was called for Alme at 2:54 a.m. Wednesday morning by the Associated Press. He garnered 47.7% against Bodnar’s 38.6% and Bankhead’s 11.9%, with 78% of the vote counted.The race to represent Montana in the upper chamber had long been viewed as Alme’s to lose, after both Bodnar and Bankhead refused to drop out in order to consolidate the Democratic vote. Bodnar’s campaign was part of a nationwide effort by Democrats to compete in traditionally Republican states by fielding or backing independent challengers. But when Bankhead was still in the race after the withdrawal deadline, Montana’s Senate seat was handed to Republicans on a silver platter.The seat is opening up because of Daines’s retirement, who chose not to run for a third term minutes before the March filing deadline to minimize the risk that Alme would attract a major challenger. The move helped avoid a GOP primary for Alme as well as the entrance of a well-known Democrat across the aisle.Bankhead was asked by 22 members of the Montana state legislature to drop out. The state lawmakers threw their support behind Bodnar, who had the backing of traditional union and Democratic-aligned groups.The state is generally a Republican stronghold and has trended to the right over the last decade. Cook Political Report rated the seat as “Solid Republican” and President Donald Trump handily beat Kamala Harris in 2024 by nearly 20 percentage points. Despite withdrawing from the race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent, secured 2% of the vote in the 2024 election.Trump endorsed Alme, while Democratic leaders steered clear of their other two candidates in deep-red Montana.TRUMP ISN’T ON THE BALLOT — BUT HIS POWER ISPrior to the withdrawal deadline, there was a glimmer of hope for Bodnar and Bankhead as the state had oscillated between parties in statewide races. Less than two years ago, it was represented by former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term senator who backed Bodnar. Six years ago, it had a Democratic governor.Alme consistently dominated in the polls, with some surveys released in the final month before the general election showing him leading the field by 19 points. Bodnar and Bankhead had garnered only a combined 45% of the vote, split 26 to 19, respectively.